Breaking The Circle
by Phoenix Burst
Summary: Hermione finds herself journeying back to the Marauder's Era after an encounter with Sirius. What she finds is manipulation that stretches across time and a surprising foe who is not considered Dark. And she learns that some changes are worth the risk. On hiatus!
1. Return of Erised

**A/N- I recently read a very good HG/SB time-travel fic, and I absolutely loved the Hermione with young Sirius pairing. Hermione with the older Sirius that she knew was a little too creepy to me. I mean, c'mon, she's the best friend of his best friend's son. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy something different coming from me. Please review! –Phoenix**

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Hermione Jean Granger sat in the kitchen of her current residence, Number 12 Grimmauld Place in London. She was reading her new textbooks for her upcoming fifth year at Hogwarts. All of her homework was done, but that was no excuse to slack off now.

It was a week before she and her friends were due to return to Hogwarts, and she was very excited. This was the year where she would finally take her OWLs and then she would begin to work for her NEWTs. It was incredibly exciting for her.

Her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, were currently upstairs playing wizarding chess instead of finishing their homework. It irritated her to no end how they would wait until the last minute and then turn to her to bail them out. But, it irritated her even more how she caved and let them do it every time.

She sat there reading by herself for ten minutes until she heard footsteps in the hallway. She lifted her head out of her book and smiled when she saw Harry's godfather and the owner of Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black, walk down the hall right past the kitchen.

When he didn't respond to her wave, Hermione frowned slightly. Sirius usually responded cheerfully to any greeting from her. But, this time he looked too preoccupied to notice her. No, he looked too sad to notice her.

Hermione frowned and put her book down on the table before getting up and following him. She had seen Sirius looking down before, but he had never seemed this depressed to her before.

She followed him to the Black library. When she got to the room she poked her head in and saw Sirius looking among the books with his back to her. He looked for a minute until he found what he was looking for and pulled it off of the shelf. It was a small and dusty book, but when he held it he stroked it fondly. He opened the book and took out what looked to Hermione like a photograph and tucked it in his shirt pocked delicately.

"You can come in now, Hermione," he called.

Hermione winced at being caught and entered the room. "I'm sorry Sirius," she said apologetically. "You seemed really sad and I wanted to come and see if you were alright."

Sirius looked at her with a warm look in his eyes. While he had always been fond of her, he had never looked at her so fondly before.

"Come, sit," he requested while gesturing to a couple of chair in the reading area. When they were settled he continued to stroke the book that he was holding with a spark in his eye that Hermione had never seen before.

"Sirius…" she began hesitantly. "What book is that?"

Sirius looked up from the book and smiled. "This book is actually a diary, and it was filled in by someone who was very dear to me."

"Was," Hermione echoed.

The fugitive nodded sadly. "She was killed during the first war. It was right before Harry was born actually. Losing James and Lily after losing her was what drove me into a murderous rage to try to kill Wormtail."

The young witch's eyes filled with tears and she hastily wiped them away. "I'm sorry to hear that, Sirius," she said emotionally.

"I keep her close to my heart," he said as he patted the pocket where he had put the picture. "But, there are many times when I wonder if it is alright to compromise some things in order to prevent others. Hermione let me ask you something."

"Anything," Hermione said instantly.

Sirius smiled bitterly. "If you could change the past to prevent this war, would you do it?"

Hermione looked a little stunned at the question. "I-I don't know," she admitted. "After my work with the time-turner, I know just how fragile time is. The tiniest change could have the gravest outcome."

Sirius leaned forward and took Hermione's hands in his own. "This war is going to get really bad, Hermione," he said darkly. "People will die now, just like they did then. If you could prevent Harry's parent's death, would you?"

"I don't know," she said anxiously. "Who knows the consequences that that could bring?"

"Just like my friend used to say," Sirius said softly. With a sigh he stood up and stretched. He gave Hermione a sincere smile and a pat on the head before he left the library and Hermione.

"What was that all about?" Hermione asked herself softly.

* * *

After her conversation with Sirius, Hermione found herself avoiding being alone with Sirius for the remainder of the summer. His question had unsettled her greatly and she felt guilty for not instantly saying that she would change the past to save Harry's parents.

They made it to the train station early and quickly loaded their trunks and found a compartment before going back on the platform to say their farewells. Hermione hugged every adult who had accompanied them and promised to let them know how school went.

The train was set to leave in ten minutes when a nose nudged Hermione's hand. Looking down, she saw that Sirius as Padfoot was trying to get her attention.

"What is it Snuffles?" Hermione asked quietly.

Padfoot whined and gestured towards one of the empty offices that were on the platform. Having no choice, Hermione followed the shaggy dog and opened the door to the office and shut it behind them. When the door was shut and the blinds closed, Sirius transformed back and swiftly cast some privacy charms on the office.

"I'm sorry that I waited so long to do this," Sirius told her once the room was secure. "I really wanted to do this that day in the library, but I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do."

"What are you talking about, Sirius?" Hermione asked timidly.

Sirius groaned and sat down in one of the empty chairs. "I have to tell you something, Hermione. You're probably going to think that I'm crazy, but I must convince you that I'm telling you the truth."

Hermione fidgeted uncomfortably on her feet. "Sirius, I have no reason to doubt your word."

"Still," Sirius insisted. With a sigh, he reached his hand in the pocket of the coat that he was wearing and took out the small diary that she had caught him finding not too long ago. "I have been debating with myself whether or not I should do this, but in the end it only came down to one thing. Giving this to you was my close friend's last request."

"I don't understand," Hermione said faintly. "Why would someone who has been dead for fifteen years ask you to give that diary to me?"

Sirius took a deep breath and handed the diary to her. With slightly shaking hands, Hermione took it and opened the cover. Written on the inside cover was a name.

"Jean Hanley," she read. The name wasn't too odd; Jean was a common name as was Hanley. In fact, her own middle name was Jean. What stuck out to her was the familiar, neat handwriting. "This is my handwriting," Hermione gasped.

Hurriedly, she opened the diary to find that all except the first page were blank. She frowned and looked at Sirius, her brown eyes demanding an explanation.

"I charmed the pages so that they only reveal themselves on the day that they were written," Sirius explained.

"That doesn't explain anything," Hermione said dryly. "I'd recognize my handwriting anywhere."

Sirius seemed to brace himself. "That's because you wrote it. Hermione, you are my friend Jean."

Silence filled the room they were residing in. Sirius braced himself for one of Hermione's lectures to disprove something, but was instead surprised by laughter.

"I'm your dead friend," she laughed. "I'm sorry Sirius, but that's impossible. Even with a time-turner, it is impossible to travel back over fifteen years."

"Nothing is impossible for magic," Sirius told her seriously. "I am giving this to you because if you go through Jean's past actions, you will be given a chance to stop this whole war. Jean didn't realize it until she was dying in my arms that it was worth a shot to try and change things."

"But the repercussions," Hermione began.

"Would be worth it to save the countless lives," Sirius said softly.

"Even if it meant that Harry wasn't born?" Hermione challenged.

Sirius flinched but held firm. "It all depends on what you change. Hermione, I'm not asking you to make your decision now. But, if you do decide to go back, it is written in your diary and should reveal itself day-by-day."

Hermione's hands trembled as she held the diary in her hands. "But Sirius, you said that Jean died in your arms. If I am your Jean…then you're asking me to go back to my death."

Sirius's eyes flashed in anger. "I would do anything to save Jean," he said fiercely. "And you will not make the same mistake that she did. If you heed what Jean wrote then you will not meet the same fate."

"I can't go!" Hermione burst out. "It's too risky! And you talk as if Jean and I are two separate people when we are the same!"

"Because you are," Sirius said seriously. "Jean is who you will become; it is Jean who I grew close to while in school. I wasn't even aware that you are Jean until recently. Hermione, there are manipulations going on. I didn't remember Jean completely until about a month ago. She was one of the closest friends that I ever had and I just forgot about her? I didn't remember her at all until I first saw you. At first it was just a tug in my mind, but they grew into fuzzy memories and then I finally remembered her name. Remus doesn't even remember her and he was close with her too. Memories of Jane were erased in everyone who knew her."

Hermione's mouth gaped in alarm. "Who would obliviate that many people?"

"I can think of someone," Sirius said bitterly. "But I won't tell you that." The train whistle began to blow and Sirius swore. "You have to go," he said hurriedly. "Please think about it. I know that I'm asking a lot, but you have a chance here. Who knows what you will be able to prevent. You can make the future a better place." He dug his hands back in his pocket and pulled out a small bag. "You'll need this," he said as he put the bag in her shoulder bag.

"Sirius," Hermione started, but he canceled the charms and shifted back into Padfoot. "I'll think about it," she promised.

Hermione patted Padfoot on the head and raced back to the train, making it just in time for the clock to strike 11. It was a good thing that it was a long train ride, because she had a lot of thinking to do.

The whole train ride Hermione was silent. Her friends tried to include her in their conversations, but Hermione would just smile politely and go back to looking through hers…or **Jean's** diary.

While the whole prospect was absurd, Hermione couldn't help but feel that she could do some good. With Voldemort biding his time until he publicly announced his return, things were relatively quiet. There weren't any attacks going on. But, there were still the deaths from the first war and Cedric's death just a couple months prior.

Hermione took in a deep breath and opened the diary to that day's entry. Her neat handwriting was painfully obvious but Hermione could also tell that Jean was feeling anxious when she was writing this entry. While other people wouldn't catch up on this, Hermione could point out the parts where the words were written by a trembling hand.

_September 1, 1995_

_Hello Hermione,_

_If you are reading this, then that means that you talked to Sirius. I know what you're feeling, I was skeptical about what Sirius told me as well. I have tried time and time again to try to figure out how to understand time-magic, but it's not meant to be understood. Sirius told me that I was his friend, Jean, and that I died in his arms. He asked me to go back hoping that I could fix things in the world. Well, if you're reading this then I guess that I failed. I don't know why I failed, but I'm sorry that this process is getting repeated again. I hope that you can do right where I did wrong and we'll fix this repeated cycle. All time-magic is one big cycle. If you're even considering going (don't automatically go just because I have gone through time-magic, go because **you** want to go) then get a blank diary and write in it each day. Like my Jean's diary told me, I will tell you how to go back. Also, be sure to bring only your wand and whatever Sirius gives you. I suppose we're meant to buy things from that time._

_I'm scared. I'm writing this right before I go, and I can barely move my legs. Just knowing what has happened before makes me feel like I'm signing my own death certificate. I'm going to use all of my Gryffindor courage to go and try to change things. Hermione, I'm going to learn from my Jean's mistakes, so you need to learn from mine. Who knows, they could be relatively insignificant changes that saves everyone. To go back, you need to truly desire it. The Mirror of Erised does more than just show you your heart's desire. It can also grant it in some cases. The mirror hasn't been moved since our first year._

_If you choose to go, good luck,_

_Jane Hanley_

Hermione read the entry five times before she closed the book and put it in her bag. When her hand brushed against something velvet she remembered the bag that Sirius had given her. She took it out and opened it. When she saw the contents she nearly dropped the bag.

Inside of the bag were countless galleons, sickles and knuts. She quickly noticed that the bag had a bottomless and a feather-light charm on it.

_Well, that solves my money problem,_ Hermione thought dryly. _It seems that Sirius was determined to ensure that Jane would be well-cared for. But, that doesn't nearly solve all of the complications that I would face…if I choose to go._

When the train arrived at Hogwarts, Hermione followed her friends to the horse-less carriages and sat down next to Harry who looked at her in concern.

"You alright Hermione?" he asked worriedly. "You've been awfully quiet all day."

Hermione smiled reassuringly and nodded. "I'm just thinking about stuff. Harry, if you had the chance to change the past to save your parents, would you?"

Harry's eyes widened at the question. "Of course," he said instantly.

"Even if the repercussions were bad?" she continued.

"I guess that some things are worth the risk," Harry said with a shrug. "But, if I could change things for the better, then I would at least try."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you, Harry," she said softly.

* * *

After the feast, Hermione excused herself from her friends and went up to her dormitory. She dug through her trunk and pulled out a blank book.

"I guess I'll finally write in this," Hermione mused as she opened the blank diary that her parents had given her before her first year.

She left her book bag on her bed and tearfully removed the Gryffindor Crest and trim from her robes. There were no guarantees that she would be sorted into Gryffindor again.

The last thing that she did was take a good, long look at the room that had been her home for the past four years. Even though her mind was screaming for her to stay and that what she was about to do was stupid, but for once her heart was louder than her mind.

With just her clothes, diary and the bag that Sirius had given her, she walked down to the common room. She saw that the common room was empty which made her decision easier. If her best friends had still been up she wasn't sure if she would be able to go through with it.

She quietly made her way through the castle toward the third floor corridor. Without the Marauder's Map and Harry's invisibility cloak, she was a lot more vulnerable to get caught. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the same door that she had stood in front of with Harry and Ron by her side years ago.

"I made the decision," she told herself. "I'd do anything to help Harry, and I suppose that I'm helping myself too."

With resolve, she opened the door, half-expecting Fluffy to try to eat her. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the room was empty and that there were no obstacles preventing her from walking to the trapdoor. When she opened the trapdoor she tried to look for any signs of the devil's snare that used to be at the bottom.

"_Lumos_," she said as she pointed her wand in the hole.

When her wand lit up she saw no traces of the deadly plant. She conjured a rope and quickly tied it to one of the unlit torches on the wall and dropped it through the hole.

It would be safe to say that climbing down a rope in the pitch black from an unknown height was one of the most terrifying things that she had ever done in her life. She didn't like heights at all, but she liked them even less in the dark.

By the time she made it to the bottom she was trembling. It took her a minute to regain her composure enough to banish the rope and close the trapdoor with her wand.

Going through the chamber a second time was much easier than the first. There were no charmed keys to catch and no giant chess game to play, which was a relief because she was terrible at the game. The faint smell of troll was still evident and it made her shiver as she had flashbacks from her own troll attack. There were no flames or logic puzzle to go through. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the Mirror of Erised.

She had never seen the mirror before, but she could immediately understand why Harry was drawn to it. She didn't dare get close to the mirror just yet, in fear of getting whisked away right away. There was something that she had to do first.

Taking out her diary and a pen that she usually kept on her at all times, she wrote her first entry. Her entry wasn't really any different from the one that she had read earlier. Her hand trembled as she wrote, but with each letter she felt more and more confident in herself. When she was done with the entry she safely tucked the diary back on her pocket and walked up to the mirror.

When she looked in the mirror she saw only herself. She frowned in confusion and touched the mirror, wondering if something was wrong.

"Am I missing something?" she asked herself.

"Indeed, you are Miss Granger," a voice said behind her.

Hermione nearly jumped in surprise and whirled around. "Professor Dumbledore," she gasped. "I-I…"

Albus Dumbledore walked into the room and stopped twenty feet in front of her. "Miss Granger, I cannot allow you to finish what you have sought out to do. You are meddling with magics that are very dangerous."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione said while she backed up into the mirror.

"Do not lie Miss Granger," Dumbledore said sternly. "I have known for quite some time that you would destroy the world as we know it. You threaten the Light."

Hermione's eyes widened in alarm. "I'm not threatening the Light!" she protested. "I'm trying to change things for the better."

"And it is your delusional idea that will threaten our world."

"You mean our world where countless people have died in a war that can be prevented and those who are different are prosecuted because of our so-called 'government'?" Hermione demanded.

Dumbledore's eyes flashed angrily. "I had thought that all traces of Jane Hanley were erased years ago. But I see now that as long as you live, so will Jane Hanley."

Panic filled Hermione's chest. "You're the one who obliviated everyone's memories of Jane!"

"And now I will be more thorough," Dumbledore said regretfully. "In order to preserve the Light, you must be extinguished." He raised his wand and pointed it at her. "Goodbye Miss Hanley."

Hermione pressed herself up against the mirror even more. Right then, she wanted with every fiber of her being to go back and prevent the war and Dumbledore from hurting who knows how many people. Right when Dumbledore's wand began to dispel a green light, she felt her body begin to fall backwards, through the mirror.

The last thing that Hermione remembered was Dumbledore's furious shout when the world went black.

* * *

**A/N- I hope that you all enjoyed the first chapter of my story. The reason why I'm approaching time-travel from this perspective is because I believe that time is one big circle. Please review and let me know what you think! -Phoenix**


	2. The Lie

**A/N- Thanks for reading! Oh and as it was pointed out to me: Hermione becomes Jean Hanley. I kept writing Jane by mistake towards the end. Thanks for pointing that mistake out to me! Review! –Phoenix**

* * *

Hermione moaned softly as she slowly regained consciousness. With her whole body throbbing, she slowly sat up and rubbed her head and looked around.

She was undoubtedly in the same chamber that she had been in before, but the major difference was that there was no Mirror of Erised anywhere in sight. Fear filled Hermione's heart as she recalled Dumbledore's admission and murder attempt on her.

_Dumbledore was willing to kill me_, she thought fearfully. _He would have if I hadn't fallen through the mirror._

It took a few minutes for Hermione to catch her breath and struggle to her feet. She staggered slightly and had to brace herself on the wall, but managed to keep moving once the room stopped spinning. It took considerably longer to walk back through the chamber than it did the last time.

The chamber was filled with dust and cobwebs from lack of use. Also, it was unbearably cold. Hermione clutched her measly robe around her as tight as she could. When she made it to the spot where the trap door was she frowned.

"I have to get the door open," she mused out loud. Pointing her wand up and picturing the trapdoor in her mind's eye she said clearly, "_Wingardium_ _Leviosa_."

By controlling her charm perfectly, she managed to get the door open. She sighed in relief as she saw some more light above her head.

"Alright," she breathed. "The door is open, now the question is how I'm going to get up there. I don't think that I could keep casting the levitation charm on myself long enough to get out of here that way."

"Oy, James did you open the door?" a voice above her asked.

Hermione's heart nearly stopped when she saw four faces looking down through the trapdoor.

"Who's there?" a different voice called. "Speak up or we'll close the door!"

Not thinking of another option, Hermione sighed. "Don't close the door," she called back up. "I need help getting out!"

Hermione scowled as she heard two people laughing while the other two stifled their laughter. She was about to take back her request for help when a long piece of rope began making its way down through the hole.

"Grab on and hold tight," a different voice commanded.

Obeying whoever was talking to her, Hermione grabbed onto the rope and quickly tied a knot, making a noose that she sat in.

"I'm ready!" she called up.

Immediately Hermione felt the strangers begin to pull her up. She giggled when she heard them straining to lift her. So long as they didn't drop her she was happy.

When she was right at the door a hand stuck its way through the hole for her to grab. As soon as her hand touched the offered one, she felt a spark pass through the contact. It felt nice to the bookworm. The hand closed itself around her own and strongly pulled her the rest of the way out of the door.

Once she was out of the hole she nearly fell flat on her face, but a pair of strong arms steadied her before she fell back in.

"You have **got** to tell us how you got trapped down there," the boy said enthusiastically. "And what's down there?"

"Dust," Hermione mumbled as she shook out her robes. "And lots of it. Thank you for helping me out of there."

She looked up and felt her breath catch as she got a close look to the people who had helped her. Standing right in front of her were four boys who looked to be her age. Even though she had never actually met before, Hermione would know them anywhere. Standing right in front of her were the Marauders.

"I'm Sirius," said the one who had helped Hermione out of the hole. "And these losers are James, Remus and Peter. I'm undoubtedly the most good-looking, but it looks good to the teachers when I hang out with those who are beneath me in looks."

James rolled his eyes and punched Sirius in the shoulder. "Yeah right you prick. **I'm** the Quidditch star after all!"

Hermione giggled before she remembered everything that had happened and her mind started reeling. _I can't let them know who I am_, she thought determinedly. _I need to get settled here somehow_.

"I'm Jean," she said politely. "I was exploring the castle and I fell down through the trapdoor. I don't know how I would've gotten out of there without your help."

Remus smiled kindly which comforted Hermione greatly. He always made her feel safe. "It was quite impressive opening the door from way down there. That takes control. What house are you in? I don't remember seeing you around before."

Hermione coughed nervously. "I'm new actually. I need to go see Dumbledore," inwardly she shivered at the thought of going to the man who had tried to kill her, but she wouldn't be able to stay at Hogwarts without talking to him.

"Do you want us to show you how to get to his office?" Sirius offered.

"That would be great actually," Hermione said with a smile.

The four friends led Hermione through Hogwarts. During the trip they talked about how things worked, but the conversation always led back to Sirius bragging about being the most talented in charms while James bragged about being the best in transfiguration and Quidditch.

"So Jean," Remus said tartly, interrupting Sirius's next brag. "What is your favorite subject?"

It took Hermione a second to realize that he was talking to her. "Oh, actually I love transfiguration, but I'm no slouch at charms either."

James and Sirius looked at each other excitedly. "Well if you're sorted into Gryffindor then we'll have to whose skills are better."

"I'm not sure," Hermione said hesitantly.

Luckily before she could be pressured any further, they arrived at the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Remus said the password (tootsie rolls) and the doorway opened.

"Thank you for your help," Hermione said sincerely.

"No problem, Jean," Sirius said cheerfully. "Hope to see you in Gryffindor!"

Hermione giggled and walked up the stairs, leaving her security force behind. When she reached the top of the stairs she tried to slow down her heart rate. Her heart was still racing when she heard the Headmaster's voice summon her.

"You may enter."

It took a lot of courage for Hermione to make her sweaty hands open the door. When she entered the room she noticed that a lot of the gadgets that Dumbledore kept in her time were not there. But, most of her attention was on the man who was staring at her with calculating eyes.

He looked considerably younger. There was more strength in his body than Hermione was used to seeing. But her mistrust of him was just as great as it was earlier when Dumbledore tried to kill her.

"Hello young miss," Dumbledore said politely. "What can I do for you?"

It was very difficult to not scowl at him. Even the way he talked to her she could tell that he clearly felt superior. While in her time she had admired him, she had never realized just how manipulating the 'Great' Albus Dumbledore was.

"My name is Jean Hanley," she started slowly. "I am fifteen years old and I'm hoping to enter Hogwarts as a fifth year student."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrow at this. "Well, Miss Hanley, I am curious as to how you are already wearing a Hogwarts uniform and how you got in my school without my noticing."

Hermione had thought of this story during the trip to the office. "I was caught in an accident involving a high-powered time-turner," she lied, deciding that a half-truth would be the best option right now. "It's 1995 where I'm from. I woke up on the third floor corridor and I have no idea how to get home."

Dumbledore looked at her skeptically. "That is a rather far-fetched tale."

"I know," Hermione said with her best sheepish tone. "But I don't know what else to say."

Dumbledore sat in silence for a few moments before he leaned forward, with a condescending look on his face. "My dear, are you quite sure that you are well?"

Anger filled Hermione's mind, almost making her shout at the foul man in front of her. Instead a different idea came to her mind. "If you doubt me, then put the Sorting Hat on my head," she said hotly.

The headmaster looked intrigued at her suggestion. There was no fooling the Sorting Hat. "Very well, Miss Hanley." He got up and retrieved the Sorting Hat from its sitting place and conjured up a stool with his wand. When it solidified Hermione sat down and felt the familiar hat once again be placed on her head.

"_Well, well, well_," the hat said inside her head. "_Miss Granger, you are a clever, courageous witch. It is nice to once again sort you in this time."_

"_So you remember Jean Hanley_," she confirmed in her head.

"_My magic surpasses the limitations of time_," the hat informed her. "_I know of Dumbledore's actions and I know of your quest. It is all that I can do, but you will be considered a student here. Dumbledore cannot doubt my word_."

"_Thank you_," Hermione thought gratefully.

"Gryffindor," the hat announced out loud, causing Dumbledore to frown.

Dumbledore took the hat back and put it back where it belonged before turning back to her.

"I suppose that you really are a student here," he said dryly. "But Miss Hanley, you cannot under any circumstances do anything to affect the future. I wish for you to avoid making any impact on any lives until you can be sent back. Tomorrow you can go to Diagon Alley to purchase some items and you can begin your classes the day after. You are to tell the other students that you are newly orphaned and that you were sent here to continue your education."

Hermione had to stop herself from glaring at the headmaster for the order. "Thank you Professor," she said hotly.

Dumbledore took no heed to her tone. "Tonight you will sleep in the Hospital Wing. You can join your new dorm mates tomorrow. Welcome to Hogwarts."

* * *

The next day Hermione wandered the streets of London by herself after her trip to Gringotts to do a currency exchange, purchasing some clothes that were currently in style, though they were hideous to her. She mostly stuck to the mellow clothes, determined to avoid any spandex jumpsuits.

After she had bought a whole new wardrobe, she took the ridiculous amount of bags and swiftly made her way back to Diagon Alley. When she arrived there she asked a passing wizard to shrink her bags for her so that she would be able to finish shopping without being hindered.

Her first Diagon Alley shop was the local trunk store. She purchased a trunk with a shrinking and feather-light option and had the shop owner un-shrink her bags so she could put them in the trunk and then shrink the whole thing.

She purchased the books that were on the book list that Dumbledore had given her, plus a few extra of her own. She found a few books on complex charms and curses and more on defense as well as the most advanced transfiguration book that they had. Her spontaneous purchase however was a book on Occlumency which turned out to be a form of mind magic. There were other books that she wanted to buy, but while Sirius had given her a large amount of money, it was in no way limitless.

Her last purchase after she got the rest of her school supplies, were extra uniforms with the Gryffindor crest and trim on them. It felt good to wear the comforting trim and crest again. She hadn't realized how afraid she was of losing her Gryffindor side until she got her new uniforms.

After she had everything that she could possibly need, she made her way back to Gringotts to use their floo. Purchases in hand, she flooed back to Albus Dumbledore's office. She landed less-than-gracefully and found herself looking at her favorite teacher, Professor McGonagall.

"Hello, Miss Hanley I presume, I am Professor McGonagall" McGonagall said politely. "I have been looking forward to meeting you, though I am sorry to hear about your parents."

Hermione winced as she heard the lie that Dumbledore told put into action. "Thank you, Professor."

McGonagall smiled kindly and gestured for Hermione to take a seat. "I volunteered to wait for you to return while Professor Dumbledore went to the staff meeting. You were already sorted I was told which is odd because the sorting is meant to be done in front of the school. No matter though, I am happy to have you in my house. Here is your schedule," she said while handing Hermione a piece of parchment. "You are being considered a fifth year which means that you are to take your OWLs at the end of the school year. If I can help you in any way, please don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't," Hermione promised. She gave McGonagall a small smile and left the office.

* * *

Never before had Hermione been so nervous to attend dinner. She felt all eyes on her while she sat at the Gryffindor Table. Sitting around here were the Marauders who enthusiastically talked about their first day of classes.

"I thought that Slughorn was going to blow a vessel when your potion began to catch fire," Sirius laughed at James. "Serves you right for staring at Evans instead of reading the directions."

"Yours wasn't any better," James snapped back while a blush crept on his face.

Hermione giggled and turned her attention back to her conversation with Remus. "I spent the day getting some stuff," she explained. "I'll be joining your classes tomorrow."

Remus nodded with a smile on his face. "You'll like the classes here. Defense is my favorite personally."

A fond smile grew on Hermione's face. "I bet that you'd make a great teacher," she said.

"I don't think so," Remus said distantly.

He was saved from Hermione pressing on by Dumbledore who stood up.

"I have an announcement to make," he said clearly, making the noise stop. "We are joined by another student, Jean Hanley. Jean has already been sorted and will be a fifth year Gryffindor. I trust that you will all make her feel welcome."

While Dumbledore's words had been kind, they hadn't sounded sincere to Hermione at all. The stares from all of the students were making Hermione turn beet-red and she looked like she wanted to sink into the floor.

She was saved from her embarrassment by a girl her age with red hair who pushed James out of the way to sit next to her.

"Hello, I'm Lily," she introduced. "I'm your new dorm mate."

Hermione gaped at the woman who was going to become Harry's mother. "J-Jean," she stuttered.

Lily's brilliant green eyes lit up with amusement. "It takes Gryffindor courage to sit tall with the whole school staring at you. I could show you around the school if you'd like?"

"That'd be great," Hermione said happily.

_Maybe this won't be so bad_, Hermione thought happily.

For the rest of dinner Hermione laughed with her new housemates and for the first time since Sirius had handed her the diary, forgotten about her mission.

* * *

**A/N- Please review! I love feedback! -Phoenix**


	3. A Different Path

**Late Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

**A/N- Review! –Phoenix**

* * *

Hermione sat by herself in the library while she did research on how Voldemort could have possibly died and come back and planned on what she could do to start changing the future.

It had been a week since Hermione had fallen through the mirror and she was still adjusting to everything. Jean's diary wasn't too detailed yet, so far all of the entries were about how difficult it was and how Dumbledore was keeping a close eye on her. What made Hermione frown in thought was how Jean talked about how she was avoiding Peter at all costs and was contemplating alienating him from his three closest friends in order to prevent him from eventually becoming the Potter's secret keeper.

_Maybe this is what drove Peter towards the Death Eaters_, Hermione would often think to herself.

Classes were always Hermione's strong suit, but she found herself liking the classes in this time more than the ones in her own. Defense classes were taught by a retired Auror who went by just Stinson and potions was taught by a larger man named Horace Slughorn. She was relieved that charms and transfiguration were taught by Flitwick and McGonagall as they were her two favorite teachers. Her new magical creatures and herbology teachers weren't as memorable as the ones from her time, but they knew what they were talking about.

When Hermione talked to McGonagall about how she wished to take ancient runes and arithmancy and managed to convince McGonagall to let her take a test to prove that she was up to the fifth year standard in the subjects. She felt pleased with herself when she stunned McGonagall and the runes and arithmancy professors with her vast knowledge of their subjects and was shifted into the classes immediately.

Whenever she wasn't doing homework, she was researching her private book collection that she had purchased. At night while her dorm mates were asleep, Hermione would practice meditation and clearing her mind in order to effectively learn Occlumency. Often, she would fall asleep while writing in her diary, but she always made sure that the diary was up to date.

Hermione closed the book and sighed. So far her research into how Voldemort could have possibly survived was so far proving fruitless. Grumbling, she put the book back and began searching among the bookshelves for another volume that could be helpful.

She was so busy looking at the titles that she didn't notice the person right in front of her until she ran into him.

"Ouch! Watch it," a young Severus Snape snapped at her.

Hermione stared at her professor in surprise. "I-I'm sorry," she stuttered. "I was busy looking at the books and I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Clearly," Snape said venomously as he bent over to pick up his dropped books. "What is a Gryffindor doing looking through these books anyway? Aren't they a little **dark** for your taste?"

Hermione blushed and found herself unable to look Snape in the eye. "I was doing research," she said lamely.

Snape shrugged and began walking away. "Fine, don't tell me. We are from enemy houses after all."

At the word 'enemy', Hermione found herself blushing in anger and angrily catching up to Snape. She put her hand on his shoulder, surprising him, and spun him around.

"Why do we automatically have to be enemies?" she asked angrily. "I don't know you, and you don't know me, yet I'm told that I can't be your friend merely on principal. I don't know about you, but I prefer to know someone before I decide whether or not I like them."

"That's the way things are," Snape snapped. "But I wouldn't expect a goody-goody Gryffindor to understand that."

Hermione frowned and let go. "If you're that blind, then go. But, before you go, could I ask you a question?"

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I can't guarantee that I'll answer it."

Hermione opened her book bag and took out her potions book. "Do you have any advice on how to get the most amount of syrup out of a hellebore plant for the draught of peace?"

* * *

Hermione left the library feeling rather pleased with how her conversation with Snape had turned out.

While her future potions professor had made crude remarks about her question, he had nonetheless answered it, and they even had a rather enriching conversation about potions in general. She knew that Snape was a potions master, but she hadn't realized just how amazing he was at the subject.

_Even though his advice goes against the directions,_ Hermione thought as she headed towards her defense class. _His tips actually sound very effective. If he wasn't so rude and prejudiced, I might want him to be my partner in potions_.

Hermione made it to her defense class in time and took an empty desk in the back. She was pulling out her book and the necessary items for taking notes when someone sat in the chair next to her with a heavy 'thump'. She turned her head and frowned when she saw Sirius Black sitting next to her with his feet propped up on his desk.

"Hey, Hanley," he greeted cheerfully. "Are you actually getting ready to take notes?"

"Of course," Hermione said, confused. "With OWLs this year, I don't want to miss a thing."

Sirius laughed out loud and turned to face her. "You know," he said softly. "I could tutor you. Just because charms is my best subject doesn't mean that I'm bad at transfiguration."

Surprise coursed through Hermione. Was Sirius…**hitting** on her?

"Thanks," she said, shocked. "But I do seem to recall telling you that I love transfiguration."

Sirius frowned until he suddenly remembered their first meeting. "Oh right, the trapdoor encounter. You never did explain how an exploration of Hogwarts turned into you falling through a hole in the floor."

Before Hermione could tell her story, McGonagall began her class in her favorite way, showing off her animagus form. The lesson itself was fascinating, but Hermione soon became frustrated sitting next to Sirius, who couldn't shut up for the life of him.

"Do you ever stop talking?" Hermione asked exasperatedly. "I can barely hear Professor McGonagall over you!"

Sirius grinned and put his head on his desk. "There's nothing good at the beginning of the year anyway."

"I disagree," Hermione protested. "The process of conjuring inanimate objects is fascinating."

"I can already do that," Sirius said with a grin. "Who do you think conjured the rope that got you out?"

Hermione couldn't stop herself from being baited by the boy next to her. "I can conjure up a rope too, but that doesn't mean that I don't have anything to learn from listening."

Unfortunately, McGonagall chose that moment to look at them. "Five points from Gryffindor, Mr. Black, and Ms. Hanley for not paying attention each."

Hermione blushed scarlet and looked down at her desk, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sirius looking slightly guilty.

Surprising her, Sirius raised his hand, catching the eye of everyone in the class, including the shocked looks of his friends.

"What is it, Mr. Black?" McGonagall demanded impatiently.

Sirius chuckled self-consciously and stood up. "I just wanted to say ma'am, that Jean wasn't talking, that was me. She was just trying to focus and I was distracting her."

McGonagall looked surprised at Sirius's confession. "That was a good thing to do, Mr. Black," she said approvingly. "Five points to Gryffindor for righting a wrong."

The rest of class Hermione stared at her notes so hard that she thought that she would burn a hole through the parchment. Sirius was a kind man, that she knew, but he never struck her as the type to right someone that he had wronged.

When the bell rang, signifying the end of class, Hermione quickly gathered her things and shoved them in her bag. Before she left the classroom she put a tentative hand on Sirius's shoulder, feeling the same strange feeling that she had felt at the trapdoor.

"Thank you," she said sincerely and left before Sirius could respond.

* * *

Sirius watched the new girl, Jean, leave with an open mouth. Ever since she had arrived he had been fascinated by her. He may be fourteen going on fifteen, but girls still found themselves trying to get his attention. After he had pulled her out of the trapdoor he had expected her to shower him with thanks. He knew the bookish type of girls, they were usually more grateful for your attention.

There was something though about this particular bookworm that captured and held Sirius's attention. She wasn't classically pretty like other girls her age, but he could tell that she was the type of girl who would grow into her beauty. The untamable mane of brown hair and the slightly large front teeth made Sirius chuckle. She definitely wasn't like the other girls that he had chased after.

"Sirius, mate," James's voice broke him free from his thoughts. "We're done, or are you going to finally get some alone time with McGonagall?"

Sirius snapped his head up and scowled as his best friend. "I wouldn't take her from you, James," he retorted.

His three best friends laughed and they left the classroom together, heading for the common room.

"So Sirius," James said with a smirk. "You seemed pretty cozy with Hanley. Are you going to add her to your ever-growing list of girls that you've snogged in broom closets?"

Sirius laughed loudly. "What can I say? No girl can resist my charm."

"She seemed to do a pretty decent job at resisting," Remus pointed out with a smile. "She looked like she wanted to run out of the classroom. You did get her in trouble."

"I also righted it!" Sirius protested hotly. "And why do you care Moony?"

Remus held his hands up. "All I'm saying is that it can't be easy for her, being the new girl and getting in trouble during her first two weeks of school. Even if you took the blame," he added hurriedly.

Sirius grumbled and scuffed the floor with his feet. "It wasn't that bad."

"I thought that she was going to cry," Peter piped up.

For the rest of the trip to the common room Sirius stayed quiet. He didn't think that getting in trouble was that big a deal. But, that didn't mean that it was right to get others in trouble.

_Except Slytherins_, Sirius thought darkly. _They deserve all the trouble that they can get_.

When they entered the common room they found it empty except for Lily Evans who sat at one of the tables in the corner.

Beside him he felt James tense up in the way that only happened when he was around Lily. James had fancied her for years, but despite his best efforts Lily still looked at him in contempt.

"Hey, Evans," James called cheerfully.

Lily looked up and glared at James. "I'm busy, Potter," she said coolly.

James went over to the table and pulled up a chair. "What're you working on Evans?"

"Homework," Lily answered with a monotone. "Leave me be, Potter."

"Why would I want to leave the prettiest face in the room?" James asked flirtatiously. "C'mon Evans, go out with me."

Lily snapped her book shut. "I think that Jean has the right idea to do homework outside of the common room," she said. Turning to Sirius she added, "And I hope that you don't make it into a habit embarrassing her like that again."

"She said 'thank you'," Sirius protested.

"For getting the points back that she would have lost," Lily corrected. "You still embarrassed her. I like Jean, so don't do that again or you'll have me to answer to."

Sirius gulped silently, when Lily made a threat, she kept it. "I'll apologize," he said grumpily. "But I don't think that I should. Didn't I embarrass myself and my reputation enough by telling McGonagall the truth?"

"No," Lily said firmly as she gathered up her books and headed up to the girl's dormitories.

James watched her go with a slight look of longing in his eyes. "I don't get her," he admitted.

"I don't get girls," Sirius said as he plopped on the couch.

"But you're the biggest player in our year," Peter protested.

Remus laughed and took the seat next to Sirius. "Sirius just acts extra cocky to make up for the fact."

The common room echoed in laughter as Sirius yelled in mock anger and promptly tackled his laughing friend.

* * *

After transfiguration, Hermione had headed down to the lake to try and find her favorite tree. It was a perfect day, sun and a slight breeze; it made it too difficult to do homework inside.

She was reading her advanced transfiguration book and stopped at the section of animagi.

_I wonder if James, Sirius and Peter are animagi yet_, she thought, unsure of when they accomplished the impressive task.

The book went a lot more into detail about the process of becoming an animagi, although there was a massive "**Do Not Try This**" warning above each step. The animagus process started with simple meditation to try and tap into your inner animal. It stated that often the animagus form reflected one's patronus, but seeing as she herself had never accomplished the difficult charm, she didn't know what shape her patronus took.

_I wonder if I could start this process_, she thought. _I know that it took the Marauders three years, but maybe I'll be able to find more material and speed up the process._

Suddenly getting an idea, Hermione pulled out Jean's diary and opened it to the latest entry that she had yet to read.

_September 8, 1975_

_Hermione,_

_ Nothing truly eventful has happened today. I'm sorry to say that I haven't found anything to help my research on Voldemort's 'immortality'. There are just so many possibilities, but I can't seem to narrow it down. _

_ Snape caught me with a 'dark' book and he mocked me for not acting like a Gryffindor. I just turned and left. Even in this time Snape is hard to handle, at least I don't have to defend him against Harry's and Ron's cruel remarks._

_ I'm sorry that this entry is so short, but there is really nothing for me to say. I hope to find some answers soon._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Jean_

Even though the entry was only a couple of paragraphs, Hermione found tears of relief filling her eyes. Jean hadn't stayed and talked with Snape like she had. That meant that she was starting down a different path from her predecessor. She actually had a shot at breaking the never-ending cycle of Jean Hanley.

* * *

**A/N- I wish that J.K. Rowling had described the animagus process. I've heard some pretty weird theories. Please review! -Phoenix**


	4. Happy Memories

**A/N- Review! –Phoenix**

* * *

Hermione was walking toward breakfast with a rather lost expression on her face. It was now the middle of September and a rather special day. Today was Hermione's birthday, but no one in this time knew of it. People in **her** time barely knew of it.

Year after year she had been a little crushed when her two best friends forgot her birthday. She understood how it got lost amongst everything going on; it was right at the beginning of the school year. But, she had always hoped that her friends would do something.

When she reached breakfast she saw that only Lily was at the Gryffindor table. So far she could easily say that she really liked being friends with Harry's mom. They were both passionate about their studies which actually began a friendly rivalry to see who would be the top in their year and they also related on the feeling of being muggleborn.

"Morning, Lily," Hermione greeted as cheerfully as she could.

Lily looked up from her breakfast and smiled back. "Good morning Jean," she said back. "It's nice to see someone other than myself up this early on a Saturday. You were still sleeping when I left."

Hermione grinned sheepishly; she wasn't ready to tell Lily that she practiced Occlumency both at night and in the morning. "I like to get an early start to the day."

The two girls were discussing the upcoming OWLs when Sirius Black decided to make a rather loud entrance.

"I'm starved!" Sirius shouted, causing all heads to turn towards him. He was only encouraged when the few people who were up at that time laughed. As soon as he saw Hermione and Lily sitting at the Gryffindor table he ran over. "Morning ladies," he greeted as he sat next to Lily.

"What're you doing up so early, Sirius?" Lily asked skeptically. "And where are the rest of the goon squad?"

Hermione giggled and ignored the wounded look that Sirius shot her way. "You don't strike me as a morning person."

Sirius shuddered. "I'm not. But Peter was snoring up a storm and I couldn't sleep. So I figured that I'd join you two fine ladies."

Lily shared a devious smirk with Hermione. "I think that you'll find that we're too much for you," she said softly as she leaned into Sirius's shoulder.

"U-uh," Sirius stammered as Lily got closer.

"C'mon Sirius," Hermione giggled as she began rubbing his foot with her own. "I thought that you were a ladies' man."

Sirius was beginning to blush like mad. "I-I-I-I," he stammered furiously. "Look behind you!" he shouted while pointing behind Hermione's head. Without even waiting to see if they were looking, he ran out of the great hall as if Voldemort himself was chasing him.

"I think that it's safe to say that we broke Sirius," Hermione laughed.

Lily was laughing so hard that she had to clutch her ribs. "Those boys think that they're the only ones who can pull a prank."

"That certainly cheered me up," Hermione sighed without thinking.

"Why did you need cheering up?" Lily asked, her laughter immediately stopping. "Do you miss your family?" she asked gently, having been told the orphan lie that Dumbledore had ordered.

Hermione frowned and bit her lip. "Yeah, I do miss them," she said softly. "Today's my sixteenth birthday," she admitted.

Lily covered her mouth and ungraciously shoved plates out of her way so she could jump over the table and pull Hermione into a hug. "Why didn't you say anything?" she demanded.

"I guess I didn't think to," Hermione said without looking Lily in the eye. "My friends back home never really celebrated it because it's so early in the school year. But my parents always sent me letters leading up to it, and I guess that it hurts knowing that there won't be any coming for me this year or ever again."

"Shh," Lily hushed softly as Hermione started to cry softly. "It'll get better," she promised. "And you have me now, not that I'll ever be able to replace your family."

While Lily was comforting Hermione, they hadn't noticed the shadowy figure of Sirius Black standing by the doorway, hearing every word.

* * *

"Wake up!" Sirius shouted as he slammed their dorm room door shut. "Wake up you bums!"

James groaned and weakly threw his pillow toward the general direction that Sirius was standing. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you," he repeated over and over. "It's Saturday!"

Sirius rolled his eyes and pulled out his wand. "You have until I count to three to get out before I start hexing."

"Why should we?" Peter asked sitting up. "It's still early."

"Because," Sirius sighed. "Today is Jean's birthday. She was crying on Lily's shoulder because her parents will never write to her again on her birthday. As the Marauders, it is out sacred duty to cheer her up."

"You're awfully determined to help a girl that we barely know," Remus observed as he got out of bed.

Sirius shrugged, he couldn't explain his undeniable need to help and comfort Jean. "Everyone deserves to be happy on their birthday," he said with conviction.

James groaned again, but got out of bed. "I guess that we have no choice," he consented. "But what are you suggesting?"

"I can't think of everything!" Sirius shouted exasperatedly.

"What about a party?" Peter suggested as he started getting dressed.

"For a girl we barely know," James said critically. "Don't you think that that might be strange?"

Peter looked at his shoes. "It was just a suggestion," he mumbled.

"We need a **good** suggestion," Sirius whined.

"You said that she was upset about not getting letters from her family," Remus clarified. "But what if we send her some birthday letters? It won't be too much, but it's better than nothing and we can show Jean that we're happy to know her."

Sirius brightened up at the suggestion. "That's perfect! We each need to write a letter now. If we move quick, we can get them tied to the school owls and they'll arrive with the rest of the post. Those two girls wake up ridiculously early on Saturday."

The boys each wrote a letter wishing Jean a happy birthday and saying that they're glad that she's a Gryffindor. James suggested that they get Lily to write one too, so as soon as they were done with their letters, Sirius took them and ran back to the great hall as fast as his legs could go. When he reached the great hall he was relieved to see that they were still there and that Jean had stopped crying.

Taking in a couple breaths, Sirius walked up to Lily and bent over to whisper in her ear. "I need to talk to you, in private."

Lily looked skeptical, but the serious tone that Sirius used convinced her. "I'll be right back," she said to Jean.

When they were out of earshot, Lily looked at Sirius tiredly. "What do you want Sirius?"

"I heard Jean mention that today is her birthday," Sirius explained. "And we know it's not much, but James, Remus, Peter and I each wrote a letter wishing her a happy birthday and I thought that you would want to write one quickly. The post should be here in about twenty minutes and I'm going to give these letters to school owls to send to Jean."

"Wow," Lily said, stunned. "That's surprisingly thoughtful of you guys."

She took the offered parchment and took out a muggle writing device called a pen from her pocket. Writing ridiculously fast, she filled up the whole parchment and gave it back to Sirius.

"I'll keep her here until the post arrives," she told him. "Go!"

Sirius turned on the spot and raced towards the owlery. He certainly was getting a workout this morning.

* * *

Hermione tapped her foot impatiently on the floor as she sat with Lily at the breakfast table. She had been at breakfast for almost an hour, and despite her best efforts Lily would not let her leave.

"I need to go to the library," Hermione said for the third time. "C'mon Lily, there's no reason for me to wait."

Lily fidgeted nervously. "Just wait with me for a few more minutes," she begged. "I know that you don't like to be here during the post, but I…I'm…um…"

"Alright," Hermione sighed when Lily couldn't think of an excuse. "But I'm going after the post gets here."

"Alright," Lily agreed readily. "Did you master the conjuring spell that Professor McGonagall taught us? Right now I can only conjure rope."

Hermione immediately forgot her annoyance at being kept at breakfast. She loved talking about school with Lily, Lily never mocked her like Harry and Ron would. "I can conjure rope and I'm working on conjuring small things like teacups. Right now I can make the cup, but no handle."

It felt great to talk about the progress that she made on her magic with Lily. Harry and Ron automatically assumed that she knew everything and got it right on the first try and she didn't have the courage to tell them that she had to practice to get to the level that she was at. True, it usually didn't take her too many tries, but magic wasn't instinctual to her like it was with some other wizards.

"I can make the saucer," Lily said enthusiastically, her emerald eyes dancing. "Maybe between the two of us we can make a tea set."

The two girls giggled, something that Hermione was still not used to doing.

"There's actually a charm that I hope to learn," Hermione told her friend once the giggles were over.

Lily immediately leaned forward. "What charm is that?"

Hermione smiled. "The patronus charm."

"Oh," Lily gasped in admiration. "I've always wanted to try that. Do you want to learn it together?"

"That'd be great!" Hermione said excitedly. "I know the theory but I haven't tried the practice."

"We can practice by the lake," Lily said enthusiastically.

They were so wrapped up in their discussion that they didn't notice Peter until he sat down in front of them, looking like he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep.

"Good morning Peter," Lily said politely.

Peter looked up and gave Lily a half-smile. "Good morning. What's got you girls so excited this early?"

"Lily and I are going to try and learn the patronus charm," Hermione explained, keeping her feelings towards the rat under the belt.

"That's a difficult charm," Peter said, impressed. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and looked down sadly. "The others can do the charm, but I can't. I just can't find a happy enough memory."

Pity filled Hermione's stomach at the dejected tone that the future traitor used. _Isolating him really isn't the answer_, Hermione realized. _He needs someone who doesn't laugh at him for his failures_.

"Would you like to practice with us?" Hermione offered, surprising him. "We won't tell the boys if you don't want us to, and I'm sure that between the three of us one of us is bound to get something."

Gratitude shone in Peter's eyes. "Thank you," he breathed. "I can't really talk to the guys when I'm struggling with something," he admitted. "Stuff just comes so naturally to them."

Lily smiled sadly. "Some people really have to work to get to the level that they're at. Hermione and I don't just learn things right away, we practice and do research. Even though the teachers praise us for being bright, we really have to work to be at the level we're at."

"Really?" Peter asked, surprised.

"Really," Hermione said with a smile. "So, what do you say? Want to join our practice?"

Peter nodded enthusiastically. "When and where?"

"By the lake after breakfast," Hermione answered, looking to Lily for confirmation. When she nodded, Hermione turned back to Peter. "Lily and I will head down once we're done here and you can join us when you've eaten and fed the other boys an excuse."

"Great," Peter said happily.

Less than ten minutes later the great hall was filling up with students. Shortly after owls began filling the room with letters and packages attached to their legs. Hermione turned her head from the numerous owls and felt Lily put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Look Jean," Lily said gently.

Hermione turned to look at the owls and was surprised to see five owls waiting for her to remove the letters from their legs. With trembling fingers, she untied each letter and fed the owls some bacon.

She opened each letter and felt a few tears slide down her cheeks as her new friends wished her a happy birthday. True, it was not the same thing as having her parents wish her a happy birthday, but it still felt good. She pulled Lily into a grateful hug and flashed Peter a sincere, albeit watery, smile.

"Thank you guys so much," she whispered.

"You're welcome Jean," they said at the same time. "Let's go start now," Lily said as she pulled Hermione up and grabbed her book bag.

"Alright," Hermione laughed as she delicately put her letters in her own book bag and threw it over her shoulder. "Meet us whenever you're ready, or can get away," she told Peter who nodded happily.

The two girls left the castle and Hermione relished in the fact that she was not invisible in this time. She had people who cared about her.

* * *

When Sirius slowly walked into the great hall for the third time that morning, he scowled when he saw his three friends laughing and pointing at him.

"What's wrong Sirius?" James laughed. "You look tired."

"Sod off James," Sirius snapped as he practically collapsed next to Peter. "I've been running all over this castle like a mad man all morning."

Remus smiled and passed over the coffee. "It was your idea to write those letters to Jean," he pointed out.

Before Sirius could retort, Peter gave Sirius a good-natured shove, which surprised him. "And I'm glad that you came up with that idea," he said. "I was here when the post came and Jean was so happy. Score one for Sirius."

Sirius smiled, inwardly dancing at making Jean happy instead of embarrassed. "I knew that it was a good idea," he boasted.

"Well," James mused. "You **were** due a good one."

Peter smiled and stood up with a stretch. "I'll see you guys later," he said vaguely, hoping for a quiet getaway.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. James and Sirius pounced on him immediately.

"Where are you going?" James asked with a smirk.

"Is there a good snog that you haven't told us about?" Sirius asked eagerly.

Thinking fast on his feet, Peter said the one thing that would ensure James and Sirius leaving him alone.

"Library," he said as he left the great hall at a quick walk. He kept up his brisk pace until he made it to the lake. When he reached Lily and Jean he paused to catch his breath and gave them a hasty wave. "Make any progress?" he asked.

Jean frowned in frustration. "Apparently, none of my memories are happy enough to create more than just a bit of silvery smoke," she said sulkily.

Lily shrugged. "I can't really make anything either."

Peter frowned and looked at his shoes. "If you two can't get it…"he began.

"Don't sulk," Jean said somewhat harshly. "Sulking won't achieve anything. The key to this charm is to find a happy memory that fills you with complete happiness and projecting it through your wand while saying _Expecto Patronum_. Have faith in yourself Peter," she added in a gentler tone.

"I'll try," he said honestly. "It's just that I can't think of anything that wonderful in my life," he said in a soft whisper.

Jean and Lily put on their thinking faces. "What about some prank you pulled with the boys?" Lily suggested. "That's a good place to start. Even if it isn't corporeal at first, that's alright."

To demonstrate, Jean held out her wand and closed her eyes in concentration. When she had her memory, she shouted, "_Expecto_ _Patronum_!" Out of her wand came a wisp of silver smoke that didn't even come close to having a physical form. But, what impressed Peter was that she had a huge smile on her face.

"That's the biggest that it's been yet," Lily said to Peter. "Give it a try."

Peter nodded and gripped his wand tightly. He searched through the past four years of school, searching for something strong enough. He ended up picking the memory from his first year when his three closest friends had defended him against some Slytherin bullies and then promptly invited him to join their gang.

"_Expecto_ _Patronum_!" he shouted.

Out of his wand came a faint wisp of smoke, nowhere near the amount that Jean had just summoned. But it didn't matter, because that was the first time that he had ever been able to even summon some smoke.

"That was great Peter," Jean said encouragingly, with a genuine smile on her face.

By the end of their practice session, it was Peter Pettigrew who managed to conjure up a patronus that remotely resembled a shape.


	5. Busted

**A/N- As always, feedback is appreciated! -Phoenix**

* * *

Before Hermione knew it, October was drawing to a close and Halloween was right around the corner. Between researching Dark Magic, and training in more advanced magic, Hermione could barely notice the fact that time was going by so quickly. Her spare time was very limited, but that was alright with her.

Currently, she was sitting in the Gryffindor common room with her homework in front of her. Her quill was working profusely on her essay for charms and her brain was going a mile a minute. She didn't even notice that she had company until a bark-like laugh sounded from beside her.

"Sirius!" she gasped as she dropped her quill in surprise, effectively spreading ink all over the parchment. "You scared me," she snapped.

Sirius smirked and cleaned up her parchment with a flick of his wand and a muttered spell. "I just wanted to say hi and then I noticed that you were about to burn a hole through your parchment at the rate you were going."

Hermione blushed and looked away. She didn't understand why, but Sirius's observations always made her face heat up. "I was focused on the topic," she said defensively. "Some people actually do their homework," she added with a jibe.

Sirius shrugged. "I get my homework done, just not where people can see me. I have a reputation to uphold."

That made Hermione laugh. "I suppose that if people saw Sirius Black doing his homework then they would run for the hills screaming about an apocalypse."

"It wouldn't be **that** shocking," Sirius protested through his own laughter.

"It would," Hermione countered. She looked at her watch and cursed. "I've got to go," she told Sirius as she gathered up her belongings. "I'm meeting someone in ten minutes."

As soon as the sentence was out of her mouth, Sirius frowned. "Who are you meeting?" he asked, trying to suppress the sudden surge of jealousy.

Hermione shrugged and put her stuff in her bag. "I don't see how you need to know that," she said vaguely. "I'll see you at dinner."

She waved goodbye and quickly left the common room before Sirius could continue to question her. She swiftly headed to the library and headed towards the secluded section that most students didn't even know existed. Being the first to arrive, she sat down and took out her book and opened it to the marked page. Then she took out her muggle pen and began adding notes to the book. While there was one time when Hermione would have cringed at defiling a book, she had to admit that adding little notes to her books did make studying them easier.

"You beat me," an amused voice said behind her.

Turning her head, Hermione smirked when she saw Severus Snape standing behind her with his book bag hanging over his shoulder. "About time too, considering you're always here first," she laughed.

Even though Severus didn't laugh with her, he did give her a small, almost invisible, smile. He put his book down across the table and pulled up a chair.

Ever since Hermione had talked to Snape or Severus as she now called him, in the library weeks ago, he had become her unofficial study partner. They had a non-spoken time when they would meet in their private spot in the library and discuss their school work. Severus would help her with potions and defense while Hermione would help him with charms and transfiguration. Even though they weren't struggling with any of their subjects, they were both benefiting from someone whose skills were greater than their own.

"I was looking through my advanced transfiguration text," Hermione began as Severus sat down. "I want to try self-transfiguration."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "That isn't taught until at least sixth year," he told her. "You could mess it up and McGonagall might not be able to fix you."

Hermione clicked her tongue. "I'm not saying that I'll start off by giving myself wings," she said impatiently. "I just want to get a leg up on NEWTs."

"I'd pay to see you try it," Severus told her. "It would be worth it to see you with beaver teeth or something."

Hermione winced, remembering her old buckteeth. "Do you want to help or not?" she asked.

Severus considered it for a moment before he shrugged. "I suppose. What are you going to try first?"

Enthusiasm filled Hermione's brown gaze. "I was thinking that I would start off with something simple like claws."

"I guess that wouldn't be too difficult," Severus consented. "And worst case scenario, you have very pointy nails for the rest of your life."

Hermione laughed softly, she liked this side of him, instead of the angry man that he was in her time. "I guess that I could live with that."

Severus grinned and grabbed Hermione's book despite her protests. He flipped through the pages and whistled at the difficult content that she had already begun making notes on. His eyes narrowed at one page. "You seem rather interested in animagus transformations," he pointed out.

A blush crept across Hermione's face. "I was interested in the process," she said vaguely.

"You know that self-transfiguration has little to do with animagus transformations," Severus said harshly. "If it's becoming an animagus that you want, then I won't help you. It's dangerous and can go very wrong very fast."

This was where Hermione began to get irritated. "I don't want to be an animagus," she lied. "I wanted to learn about it and I thought that I could learn more by using self-transfiguration than I could by just reading."

Severus looked at her for a moment before sighing. "Alright, alright. You Gryffindors are very defensive."

"Just like you Slytherins are very sneaky," Hermione retorted. "But not all of them are as bad as people think."

Severus flushed and looked away. "Some don't want to be bad," he whispered so softly that Hermione almost didn't hear him.

Pity flowed through Hermione; she had almost forgotten that in her time Severus had been a Death Eater. "Then don't be bad," Hermione told him. "Just because you're in Slytherin doesn't mean that you have to be one of **them**."

Severus's eyes flashed up at Hermione angrily. "You don't know anything," he snapped as he gathered his books and left.

Hermione watched him go sadly. _Way to be subtle_, _Hermione_, she scolded herself. _It's going to take time to stop him from joining Voldemort. I just hope that he isn't already too far gone_…

* * *

Sirius wandered the halls right before dinner, scuffing his shoes absent-mindedly. He had been unexpectedly hurt when Jean had left him so suddenly to go meet with someone. But what confused him more was that when he checked the Map to see who she was meeting with, he couldn't find her anywhere. He had snickered when he saw that Snivellus was sitting with some girl named Hermione Granger in the library. There were multiple prank opportunities that were now available that would put Snivellus in his place.

Ducking into a secluded corner, he pulled out the map and muttered "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," while pointing his wand at the parchment. Immediately, the map began filling up with names. Sirius tapped the parchment again with his wand and muttered, "Jean Hanley."

All of the names vanished. The point of this feature on the Map was for the reader to quickly find a specific person. If they were in Hogwarts or on the grounds, the map would find them. Jean Hanley wasn't showing up on the map at all.

"Put that away!" an angry voice snapped in front of him.

Startled, Sirius nearly dropped the map. He looked up to the sight of an angry James. James jabbed the Map and mumbled, "Mischief managed," causing the map to go blank.

"Why would you use the Map in the open like that?" James demanded as he took the parchment and tucked it in his pocket. "Keeping the Map secret is one of the few rules that we **do** follow! If this was confiscated then we wouldn't be able to do half of the stuff that we do now."

"Sorry, **Professor**," Sirius said sarcastically. "I was looking for Jean," he admitted softly.

James looked shocked for a moment before a sly smirk made its way onto his face. "So you're stalking Jean now Sirius? You've got it bad."

"I was not stalking and I don't have **it**," Sirius snapped. "I-I was just worried. She isn't on the map at all."

That caught James's interest. "Not on the map? I wonder where she goes. Maybe she sneaks to Hogsmeade."

Sirius shook his head. "Jean doesn't seem like the type to sneak out of school grounds."

James looked genuinely interested, his irritation at using the Map in public forgotten. "I think that we have some investigating to do."

They walked to dinner, discussing quietly any possible reason why Jean would be off the grounds. When they entered the great hall, they both stopped abruptly. Sitting next to Lily, talking to Remus and Peter, was none other than their missing Jean.

"That's impossible," Sirius muttered as he dragged James back into the hall and in a dark corner. He grabbed the map out of James's pocket and activated it.

"Jean still isn't on the map," James observed, looking over Sirius's shoulder. He felt Sirius go rigid next to him. "What is it?" James asked when Sirius's hands started trembling slightly.

"The name in the same spot that Jean is sitting is Hermione Granger," Sirius said coldly. "She lied about her name. And not only that, but she ditched me to meet Snivellus earlier."

James frowned at that. "Why would Jean want to get anywhere near Snivellus? Jean is a smart girl, why would she leave you for him?"

Sirius deactivated the Map with a scowl on his face. "I don't know, but I plan on finding out. If we have a hidden Slytherin in our midst then it is my duty as a Gryffindor to stop them before anybody gets hurt."

* * *

Halloween came and went and Hermione felt things hadn't changed drastically. She still had her unusual friendship with Severus, though she avoided talking about anything dark with him for the time being, and she was becoming closer with Peter and Lily during her spare time. Occlumency was going well, but she wouldn't know how well it was going until someone who knew Legilimency tested her, and she was hardly going to ask Dumbledore for help.

Dumbledore had taken her growing friendship with students at Hogwarts less than well. He would occasionally summon her to his office and scold her for possibly changing the future. If he had had grounds for it, Hermione had no doubt that he would have had her expelled by now. Lucky for her though, all of her professors adored her and would refuse to let him even attempt it.

What confused Hermione as of late though was the sudden coldness that Sirius had suddenly expressed towards her before Halloween. Usually, the illegal animagus would show up unexpectedly to talk to her. While he wasn't the same man that Hermione knew, she always felt comforted in his presence. More so than Remus and McGonagall who she was also close with during her own time.

Hermione sat by the Black Lake with her advanced transfiguration book on her lap. It was mid-November and it was getting rather cold at Hogwarts, but it took a lot more than chilly temperatures to keep her from her favorite studying spot. She was practicing self-transfiguration, but only the simplest forms of it. Severus had been there for the first few attempts, and now Hermione was working her way up to more difficult spells.

She pointed her wand at her fingers and muttered the now familiar spell. Immediately, her fingernails began to lengthen and grow sharper. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't comfortable either. When the spell was done she had rather sharp-looking claws in place of fingernails.

"Not bad," she muttered to herself.

"You could slit someone's throat with those," a dark voice said behind her.

Startled, Hermione leapt to her feet and drew her wand. She relaxed when she saw that it was Sirius standing in front of her, but the cool look on his face stopped her from lowering her wand right away.

"That's a terrible thing to say," Hermione said crossly while she put her wand away. "I was just practicing self-transfiguration."

Sirius scowled and picked up the book from the ground. "And why would you want to know this advanced stuff?" he demanded. "A fifth year shouldn't be studying this."

Hermione frowned. "Why are you sounding so accusing?" she asked. "It's not like I'm the only witch who likes to learn advanced forms of magic."

"I don't see many other witches walking around giving themselves claws," Sirius snapped.

The harsh tone hurt her more than she expected it would. She took a step back and gripped the front of her robes. "Sirius," she gasped. "What has gotten into you?"

Sirius stepped forward until he was almost nose-to-nose with her. "I have the right to stop any traitors in Gryffindor who are about to join Voldemort."

For a second, Hermione was afraid that Sirius was talking about Peter. But then she saw the anger in Sirius's grey eyes. "Sirius…"

"You're a traitor Jean Hanley. Or, should I say…Hermione Granger."

* * *

**A/N- Sorry for the shorter chapter, I could barely get this out but hopefully I won't have as much homework due all at once for a while. Review!-Phoenix**


	6. Friends

**A/N- Review! –Phoenix**

* * *

Hermione stood, completely shocked, before Sirius as he called her by her real name. The panic was soon replaced by irritation as she remembered the Map that the marauders undoubtedly possessed.

_Sloppy_, she scolded herself. _My cover blown all because I didn't take into account that brilliant, yet irritating, map._

"S-Sirius," Hermione stuttered. "I can explain."

Sirius was too angry to listen to her. He stepped back and pointed his wand at her. "_Expelliarmus_," he shouted. He caught her wand as he flew in the air and tucked it in his pocket. "Now, you are going to tell me what your plan is. I know that you have been lying about your name and that you have been meeting with Snivellus in the library. What are you planning?"

"You've been spying on me?" Hermione demanded angrily, with her hands on her hips. "Since when were you appointed the protector of Gryffindor? I can talk to who I want, and as for why I lied about my name that's none of your damn business."

"I'm making it my business," Sirius snapped back.

Very rarely did Hermione ever feel as angry as she did at that moment. "I am a Gryffindor," she said coldly. "But that doesn't mean that I will shun any Slytherin merely on principle. If anyone is acting like a traitor right now, it's you. You have my wand and you're still holding me at wand point. I knew that you were reckless Sirius, but accusing someone with no proof?"

The vein in Sirius's forehead began to pulse in fury. "I have proof," he shouted.

"A name and a friend are not proof," Hermione shot back.

Sirius sneered, a look that Hermione was not used to seeing. "What other excuse is there for a Gryffindor hanging out with a Slytherin and lying about her name?"

For a second, Hermione struggled to think of a viable reason._ I can't tell him that I'm from the future_, she thought. _I'll have to counter a lie with a lie_.

It took her a couple deep breaths and a forced tremble in her lip, but other than that Hermione was able to put a heartbroken, wounded look on her face. "I-I lied about my name because…"

The quiet, hurt tone that Hermione used startled Sirius. He lowered his wand slightly. "Why?"

Surprisingly, it hurt Hermione a lot to blatantly lie to Sirius's face. "Because I couldn't be found. M-my parents didn't die natural deaths, they were murdered…by Death Eaters."

Sirius looked so shocked and ashamed that he dropped his wand. "Oh gods, Jean, I-I mean Hermione. I-I didn't…"

Hermione flinched at the obvious dismay in Sirius's voice. _He can't know the whole truth_, she thought as she crossed her fingers in her pocket to ward off the jinx from her parents. _I can't tell him, not yet at least_.

"I changed my name so that the Death Eaters wouldn't find me," Hermione continued. "It never bothered me that Slytherins are the rivals of Gryffindors, I care for the people, not the house. I'm friends with Severus because he is a good person and I enjoy talking to him. If that's enough to quench your thirst for justice, then please give me back my wand so that I can be on my way."

Hermione didn't completely understand why there were tears running down her cheeks while she lied to Sirius. Maybe it was because she was just so tired of lying, or maybe it was the guilt that she was feeling for deepening her pit of lies. Whatever the reason, she was close to sobbing. She took her wand back from a flabbergasted Sirius and grabbed her stuff.

Before she ran back to the castle she glanced slightly at Sirius. "Don't tell," she pleaded softly.

Sirius could only nod as he watched Hermione race back towards the castle, suppressing her sobs.

"What have I done?" he muttered to himself.

Hermione kept running until she was inside of Hogwarts's walls. For once, she didn't think. She just let her body take her wherever it wanted to go. When her breath finally stopped coming comfortably, she found herself standing on the seventh floor in front of an ugly tapestry of someone trying to teach trolls ballet.

"I can't stop lying," she panted as she paced back and forth in front of the hideous tapestry. "I just wish that I had a place where I could be myself without being afraid of someone catching me."

She was so busy ranting that she didn't notice the door appear on the opposite of the wall of the tapestry right away. When she saw it, she stopped short and gaped at it.

"I'm fairly positive that that wasn't there a minute ago," she gasped in awe.

Her curiosity getting the better of her, she went up to the door and opened it. When she saw what the room looked like, tears leaked from her eyes and she ran into the room, shutting the door behind her. She was standing in an exact model of her bedroom back home.

With tears running unashamedly down her face, she sprinted towards her bed and collapsed on it, sobbing into the linens that even smelled of the detergent that her mother favored. Even if it was not the real thing, for the moment she was home.

* * *

Sirius stood by the lake, shame burning through his whole body, for who knows how long. His accusation had blown up at him in the worst possible way. For reasons he didn't completely understand himself, knowing that Jean, or Hermione as he now knew her to be, was friends with Snivellus had set him off.

_In my defense_, he thought bitterly. _How was I supposed to know that she was a war orphan_?

It wasn't until the rain started to fall down that Sirius began walking slowly back towards the castle. He didn't race to get out of the rain, and he didn't cast a spell to protect himself from getting wet. He deserved a lot worse for what he had done.

When Hermione didn't show up for dinner, he managed to feel even worse than he already did. Somehow, Lily sensed that he was the reason why Hermione wasn't there and kept sending him dirty glares.

"Dude," James said with his mouth full. "What's up? You aren't eating."

"Not hungry," Sirius muttered.

Peter glanced around the great hall with a frown on his face. "Where's Jean? It's not like her to be late for dinner."

"That's what I'd like to know," Lily said icily.

Sirius flinched and pushed his plate away. "I'll see you guys later," he mumbled.

Ignoring the looks he was getting, Sirius left the great hall and snuck into the closest empty classroom. When the door was shut, he pulled out the Map and scanned it for Hermione. He frowned when he couldn't find her and he began to worry.

His worry soon turned to relief then confusion when Hermione's name suddenly appeared on the seventh floor. Wiping the Map clean, he sprinted up towards the seventh floor as fast as his legs would carry him. He was so focused on getting to the seventh floor that he didn't notice Hermione until he crashed into her. It was only Hermione's quick reflexes that stopped him from falling back and hitting his head on the cold stone.

Her eyes were red and puffy and her bushy hair was even wilder than usual. When Sirius looked at her, the guilt was almost too much for him to bear.

"Je-I mean Hermione, I'm so sorry," Sirius said sincerely. "You were right, I overreacted. I had no proof but I hounded you anyway. I am so sorry."

Hermione smiled slightly and smoothed down her hair. "It's alright," she said softly.

"No, it's not," Sirius said sincerely. "C-can we go somewhere to talk in private?"

Hermione nodded slowly. "Alright."

They walked to Gryffindor tower and Sirius led Hermione up to his dormitory. He was relieved to find that the room was empty and he quickly tossed the dirty clothes and book off of his bed onto the floor.

"Sit, please," he said while gesturing to the somewhat clean bed.

Hermione nodded and sat down on the bed. For a moment she looked too embarrassed to say anything. It hurt him, knowing that he had effectively destroyed the friendship that he had formed with her.

"I am so sorry," he said for the hundredth time.

"I heard," Hermione said without looking at him. "But, I guess that it isn't completely your fault. I **did** lie about my name."

"For a good reason," Sirius replied. "But that doesn't make it okay for me to jump to conclusions like I did. Please, tell me how I can make this right."

Hermione shook her head sadly. "I'm not angry with you, Sirius."

Sirius groaned. "But I was still a royal jerk! Please! I just want things to be like they were! Even if it just means that you hate me forever!"

"I could never hate you Sirius," she said quietly. With a weary sigh, she stood up and shook out her robes. "Let's just pretend that it never happened. I won't ask how you knew what you did, and you won't call me by my real name in public."

"But, I like your name," he protested with a slight blush.

Hermione smiled and put a gentle hand on Sirius's cheek. "I can't go by anything other than Jean. Hopefully soon I will be able to tell Lily, Remus, Peter and James my real name. But, trust is not something that comes easily to me."

"Will you tell Snivellus?" Sirius asked before he could stop himself.

The soft hand removed itself, leaving him feeling strangely cold.

"Do not call my friend that name again," she said coolly. "But no, I will not tell him yet. But if and when I do, I will not hear your cruelty towards him. I may have not been here long, but I know enough that you and James are downright cruel to Severus. If I didn't know better, I would say that you were the Slytherins, ganging up and picking on those weaker than yourselves. You're just lucky that Severus hasn't fought back yet."

The look on his face must have been quite comical because it wiped some of the coolness from Hermione's. But it was quickly back.

"I'll see you later," she said curtly.

"Hermione," he called, but she was already gone. "Bugger!"

* * *

Hermione raced down the stairs from the boy's dormitories and up the stairs towards the girl's quickly. She didn't feel like talking to Sirius anymore that night. When she entered her room, she was nearly knocked over by Lily who pulled her into a hug.

"Where have you been?" Lily demanded. "I have been worried sick! No one had seen you since class and you completely skipped dinner." When she saw the redness in Hermione's eyes, her own green eyes flared in anger. "What did Sirius do?"

That brought out a small giggle. "It's alright Lily, we've talked it through. I was crying because I was homesick."

The anger was replaced by concern. "Oh, Jean," she said softly.

A few more tears leaked out of her eyes but she gently pushed Lily off from giving another hug. "I'm alright now," she promised.

The look in Lily's eyes told Hermione that she didn't believe her in the slightest but she let it go. "You must be hungry," she said instead. "Do you want to go to the kitchens to get something to eat?"

The thought of eating made Hermione's stomach unsettle a little. "I'm alright. Not eating tonight won't kill me."

Lily nodded, her emerald eyes concerned. "Jean, I know that we just met in September, but you're my best friend. And I hate seeing you hurt. So please, tell me what I can do to help you."

For a moment, Hermione stood there stunned. She had been called Harry Potter and Ron Weasley's best friend. But never before had a girl given her that title. Never before had Hermione developed that type of bond. Sure, she and Ginny Weasley were close, but Ginny had never called Hermione her best friend. The very thought of finally having someone who she could relate to so well made Hermione's tears return.

Surprising both herself and Lily, Hermione pulled Lily into a tight hug. "Thank you, Lily," she cried. _I won't let you die_, Hermione thought determinedly while Lily consoled her. _Harry will have his mother and father growing up. I will not fail where Jean Hanley has failed before._

_

* * *

_

After Hermione's name had been discovered by Sirius and Lily called Hermione her best friend, Hermione had dedicated herself even more to breaking the circle of Jean Hanley. She apologized to Severus for what she said and they went back to being unofficial study buddies. Together with Lily and Peter, they worked on mastering the patronus charm, though so far only Peter was close to conjuring a corporeal one. Her extra studies went well and she had grown adept at giving herself cat eyes to see things more clearly. For some reason, she found cat-like transfigurations to be the easiest.

The only things that Hermione was stuck on were her research on the Dark Arts and her friendship with Sirius Black.

Ever since Sirius had shown Hermione such coldness, she found it difficult to trust him. While her friendship with the other Marauders grew, her friendship with Sirius dwindled. It was just too awkward being around him.

Christmas was just around the corner and Hermione quickly found that even less people stayed at Hogwarts during Christmas in this time than her own. Out of her friends, only Severus and Peter were staying at Hogwarts, but as long as she wasn't alone she was happy.

Hermione woke on Christmas morning feeling lonelier than she had in a long time. She would most likely be having breakfast with her parents at this time. Wiping her eyes, she got out of bed and was surprised at the small pile of presents at the foot of her bed; she had honestly not been expecting to receive anything.

From Lily she got a book bag that had a bottomless and feather light charm on it, Peter gave her a lovely red and gold scarf that had a trim of blue on it to represent her inner Ravenclaw as Peter called it. James gave her some chocolate frogs and Remus gave her a new journal as her current one was almost filled.

What surprised Hermione most of all were the two gifts that remained. One was from Sirius which contained a beautiful silver necklace with an owl charm. The other one was from Severus. She opened Severus's carefully and gaped in astonishment when she found herself staring at the NEWTs level potions book with notes written by Severus on every page to help bring out the maximum potential from each potion.

Hermione smiled and held the potions book to her closely as she began to browse through it. She soon noticed that one of the pages was marked. She flipped over to the page and gasped at the potion that Severus had clearly taken a lot of time to think over and make notes on.

"Inner beast potion, this potion is used to discover if one is capable of becoming an animagus. If one drinks the potion, then they will slip into a sleep where they will meet their inner beast, if they have one." she read. Her eyes scanned the page. It was without a doubt, the most difficult potion that Hermione had ever read about. It was obviously too difficult because it was not a part of the NEWTs curriculum in her time. She trailed the page and stopped at a little note from Severus in the corner.

_Be careful and don't bite off more than you can chew. –S.S._

Hermione smiled and put the precious book in her new bag and after a moment's hesitation, put the new necklace around her neck. When she had transferred her stuff into her new bag, she went down to the great hall for breakfast. Peter and Severus were already there, eating at their respective tables. Hermione put her stuff down across the table from Peter and sat down.

She could feel Dumbledore's eyes on her and she knew that talking with Severus wouldn't be smart. When Severus looked her way Hermione smiled and mouthed 'thank you'. Severus returned her smile with a small one of his own before leaving the great hall.

"Happy Christmas Jean," Peter said with a slightly glum smile.

Hermione turned her smile to Peter. "Happy Christmas to you too," she said cheerfully. "I don't know about you, but I plan on using the lack of students to my advantage."

"How so?" Peter asked in interest.

"I'm going to practice in the common room," Hermione responded. "But if you want to join me I would welcome your company."

Peter smiled shyly. "Actually…I need help with transfiguration if you've got time to help me."

Hermione smiled and nodded. "I would be happy to help you, Peter. I'm going to go look up something in the library, but I'll meet you in the common room in an hour, alright?"

"Sounds good."

Once Hermione finished her breakfast, she grabbed her bag and headed towards the library. When she arrived she immediately went to her secluded study corner where Severus was already sitting.

"Thank you, for the gift," Hermione said sincerely as she put her bag down.

Severus looked up from his book. "And thank you for yours," he said as he gestured to the advanced transfiguration text that Hermione had gotten him. "Although, there aren't nearly as many notes in this book as I wrote in yours," he added with a smirk.

Hermione giggled. "Well I haven't gotten to try everything in there yet. When I figure those spells out I'll add the notes to your copy."

Severus nodded before he turned serious. "I hope that you know what you're doing with your 'special project'," he said softly.

"I don't know what you mean," she replied vaguely. "Happy Christmas, Severus."

"Happy Christmas, Jean."

* * *

**A/N- Just wanted to add a nice Hermione and Severus friendship moment at the end. Review! -Phoenix**


	7. Whomping Willow

**A/N- Okay, I've been pretty clear that I'm gonna give Hermione an animagus form. I already decided what it's going to be and I've given a hint in the story so far (and a misleading one as well teehee). Feel free to guess, I love reading people's guesses. Review! –Phoenix**

* * *

"_Stupefy_!" Hermione cried as she aimed at Remus.

The werewolf dodged instead of using a shield spell. He grinned at her obvious frustration and pointed his wand at her. "_Impedimenta_!"

Hermione cursed as she hastily brought up her wand. "_Protego_!"

She and Remus continued their spar, each gaining no ground over the other.

It was March and they were currently in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class which was led by a retired, and balding, Auror named Frost. Hermione always enjoyed Frost's class because of the hands-on approach that he used when teaching. Because DADA had never been Hermione's strongest topic, she was happy to have an effective teacher teaching her how to fight and defend herself.

Sweat was beginning to drip down her face as she faced Remus. Her friend had the instinct for dueling that she didn't have. At this point while she was barely keeping up, Remus was having the time of his life.

Remus pointed his wand at Hermione's feet and shouted, "_Glacius_!"

Hermione gasped as the floor where she was standing became ice. While she was struggling to maintain standing, Remus shouted, "_Expelliarmus_!" and effortlessly caught her wand as it went flying out of her hand.

"Duel is over," Professor Frost announced. "Mr. Lupin is the winner. Five points to Gryffindor for a wonderful match."

Hermione cursed under her breath and Frost canceled the spell that Remus had used. She smiled at Remus and took her wand back.

"Great job, you caught me by surprise with that ice spell."

Remus grinned sheepishly. "I guess I have a fighting instinct."

"You should consider being an Auror," Hermione said without thinking.

The grin fell from Remus's face. "I don't think that'll be happening," he said softly.

"Oh," Hermione said, mortified. "Remus, I'm so sorry."

"For what?" Remus asked curiously.

"Nothing," Hermione squeaked. Leaving a suspicious Remus behind, she went back to the side of the room and sat next to Lily.

"That was a close match," Lily said optimistically. "Don't feel bad about losing, Remus is rarely defeated. He has a sixth sense for dueling. Professor Flitwick has given him a few tips, from Master Dueler to future Master Dueler he says."

Hermione giggled. "I'm a bookworm, I have to work twice as hard as most witches and wizards to be as good as I already am. I tend to over-think the situation."

Lily smiled. "You're better than you give yourself credit for, Jean."

The two best friends laughed and caught the confused looks of James and Sirius as they headed to the dueling platform for their duel. James shined his cocky grin at Lily when they made eye contact.

"Hey, Evans," James said loudly. "Want to go on a date after I win? I'm the Quidditch star and dueling idol of Gryffindor, I'm quite a catch."

Lily's face turned as red as her hair in embarrassment. "Stuff it, Potter," she snapped. "I will never date you."

At the slightly crestfallen face of James, Hermione started thinking. _I wonder when those two started dating. Not that I blame Lily for not wanting to date James, he's a bit of a prick. But, those two do need to get together in order for Harry to be born._

On the platform, James and Sirius held out their wands in front of them and bowed. Hermione noticed that Sirius hadn't taken his eyes off of her, and it made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Even though it had been months since the incident by the lake, their friendship was still fragile if not nonexistent.

"Begin," Professor Frost said.

Immediately, the two friends were dueling each other with all their might. They both had the same instinct as Remus, though they weren't as smart with their spell work as Remus was. Also, they both preferred showier spells than Remus did.

"_Stupefy_!" Sirius shouted.

James dodged the spell, but the spell crashed into the wall behind them and sent a tiny bit of rubble crashing to the floor.

"Boys," Frost snapped. "There is no need for that much power."

"Professor," Peter said nervously. "Perhaps you should conjure up a barrier. James and Sirius can get a little reckless when they're dueling."

Before Frost could conjure up a barrier, James had pointed his wand at the stage and shouted, "_Bombarda_!"

Things almost went slow-motion for Hermione. The middle of the stage exploded, sending pieces of wood and stone flying towards the students.

Frost conjured a barrier around the small debris, but a few pieces weren't caught in it and still went flying towards the students. Hermione had just enough time to push Lily out of the way before a rather large piece of stone hit her. Unfortunately, Hermione wasn't fast enough to get out of the way herself and the stone crashed violently into her shoulder, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Jean!" Lily shouted in worry.

Hermione gasped in pain and clutched her shoulder. For a moment she was afraid that she was going to black out from the pain.

Lily grasped her hand and held it tight. "Oh, Jean," she cried. "You didn't have to do that! That should have been me."

Professor Frost pushed his way through the students and crouched down next to Hermione. He gruffly examined her shoulder and sighed. "Go to Pomfrey," he ordered. "Looks dislocated."

"Y-yes Professor," Hermione gasped.

Lily tried to help her to her feet, but Hermione could barely stand out of the pain and Lily staggered under her weight. Just before they both fell, Sirius was by their side and he effortlessly picked Hermione up bridal-style without jostling her injured shoulder.

"I can carry her," he told Frost.

"I'll take her," Lily snapped. "It's yours and James's fault that she's hurt in the first place!"

From her half-closed eyes, Hermione could see Sirius's face showing pain and guilt. "It's okay, Lily," she panted.

Lily didn't look sure, but Frost nodded. "Go then," he said.

Sirius carried her from the room, but not before she heard Frost shouting at James and giving him a week's worth of detention.

"That was stupid of him," Hermione mumbled. "Who uses an exploding hex in a room full of students? He's lucky that I was the only one hurt."

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Sirius whispered. "James and I **are** too reckless when we're dueling. I never wanted anyone hurt…especially you."

They remained quiet for the rest of the trip to the Hospital Wing. When they got there, Sirius put her on one of the beds and stood to the side while Madam Pomfrey examined her shoulder. It was dislocated, but there was also a minor fracture. Madam Pomfrey healed the break and pointed her wand at her shoulder again.

"This is going to hurt," she warned.

Sirius was immediately by her side, holding her opposite hand. With a nod from Hermione, Madam Pomfrey cast the spell.

Hermione cried out in pain and clutched Sirius's hand so hard that it turned white. With her shoulder back in place, Madam Pomfrey conjured up a sling and gently eased Hermione's injured arm into it.

"Take it easy for a couple of days," she instructed. "No heavy lifting, no dueling. Stop by tomorrow so that I can look it over."

"I will. Thank you."

Hermione and Sirius left the Hospital Wing and headed towards their potions class. They both felt awkward being alone together and they remained silent.

Before they entered the classroom, Sirius took her hand unexpectedly. Hermione looked at him in confusion and suddenly felt her cheeks heat up at the intense look that she was giving her with his gray eyes.

"I am sorry, Hermione," he whispered. Surprising her even more, he leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

Leaving her completely flabbergasted, Sirius turned and entered the classroom. Shaking her head in bewilderment, Hermione followed. When were things going to stop catching her by surprise like this?

* * *

Closer and closer, OWLs were coming and Hermione was so focused on changing history that studying was put on the backburner, something that she would have never done in her own time. But, what Hermione was really dreading was the summer. She had absolutely no idea where she was going to be staying, and it scared her.

It was April and OWLs were a month away. Hermione was sitting in the common room by herself doing homework when she heard someone quietly cursing at the top of the stairs toward the boy's dormitories. The cursing continued and Hermione found herself ducking into the stairwell to the girl's dormitories, hiding from sight from whoever was coming down, even though she didn't know why.

Sirius, James and Peter entered the common room with a ratty old piece of parchment that Hermione recognized was the Map and the silvery cloak that Hermione recognized as the Invisibility Cloak. They obviously didn't notice her as they continued to whisper.

"Remus should already be there," James whispered. "Guy could barely move this morning, he looked like crap."

Hermione's eyes widened as she remembered that it was the night of the full moon.

"I bet that Snivellus shows up," Sirius laughed. "He was so desperate to prove to Lily that we're bad people. Prat doesn't know when to keep his greasy nose out of other people's business."

Hermione scowled. She should have known that Sirius wouldn't stop calling Severus by that name after she had warned him.

After the boys left the common room, Hermione grabbed her stuff and ran up to the girl's dormitory. If Severus was going to try and follow them during Remus's transformation, he could get seriously hurt. And she wasn't going to let that happen when there was something that she could do to stop it.

Lily was sitting on her bed doing homework when Hermione came running in. "What is it, Jean?"

Hermione looked at her, a lie already forming on her lips when she stopped herself. She remembered that Lily was Severus's friend too. And if anyone could help her stop Severus from following the stupid Marauders, Lily could.

"We need to go," Hermione said urgently as she threw on a cloak.

"Where and why?" Lily asked as she started putting on her shoes and cloak.

"A joke is going to go very wrong if we don't stop it," Hermione told her. "I can't give you any more details, but trust me. We have to find Severus and stop him."

"Sev?" Lily gasped. Her green eyes went from worry to fury. "What did James do?"

Hermione grabbed her hand and began pulling her out of the room. "They sent Severus on a wild goose chase to the Whomping Willow," Hermione relented after a minute, giving half the truth.

Lily skidded to a halt, nearly tripping Hermione. "That arrogant…brainless…arse!" she cursed.

Suddenly, it was Lily that was pulling Hermione. They left Gryffindor Tower and quietly made their way to the castle grounds. Because Lily was a prefect, she knew where the other prefects were patrolling and they were able to evade them easily. By the time they were outside, the full moon was out.

"Hurry," she gasped, leading Lily towards the Whomping Willow.

The aggressive tree was swinging its branches wildly, and Hermione knew that someone was too close to it. Sprinting, they approached the Whomping Willow and Hermione recognized the thin, greasy-haired boy that was dodging the branches as they tried to hit him.

"Sev!" Lily cried in worry when she too recognized the boy. Before Hermione could stop her, Lily was racing forward with her wand drawn.

"Lily!" Hermione shouted. She drew her own wand and shot a stunner at a branch that was aiming at Lily from behind. When she reached her best friend, she pulled her back. "We can't get too close," she told Lily. "Severus, get out of there!" she shouted at her friend.

Severus looked over his shoulder and glared at her. "I'm going to prove that those stupid _**Marauders**_ are nothing but scum and that they should be expelled!"

"Is it worth dying over?" Lily demanded.

Severus flinched and bowed his head. "I have to show you the truth!" he shouted desperately.

Hermione saw another branch swinging towards Severus while he was looking at Lily. Suddenly, her year of hard work studying and training during DADA came back to her and she was sprinting forward. She shot a freezing hex at the branch that was aiming for Severus and tackled him to the ground before the branch broke the ice and swung right where his head had been a moment ago.

They rolled away together and Hermione ended up on top of Severus. The boy was surprised, but he was still glaring at her.

"I have to show her," he whispered fiercely. "She has to know."

"Proving that James and Sirius can be real jerks isn't going to help you," Hermione whispered back. "If you want to be her friend, then be a friend instead of a jealous prick. And if she does end up together with James," she added after a moment's thought. "Then you should be happy for her. Because, isn't it better to be in her life than absent from it?"

Severus glared at her for a moment longer before he nodded.

"Look out!"

Lily's cry warned them just in time to roll out of the way of another assault. Before Hermione was back on her feet, a second branch came at her and knocked her back. She landed roughly on the ground and gasped as the wind was knocked out of her. Lily pulled her to her feet and shot a stunner at the next branch. When that didn't work, Lily pulled Hermione out of reach before running back in for Severus.

"Lily," Hermione wheezed as she hunched over, desperately trying to refill her lungs.

When she looked up she saw Lily desperately trying to reach Severus who was being toyed with by the tree. Every time that Severus tried to run away, a branch thudded to the ground, blocking his path. Any spell that he shot at the tree wasn't effective enough to stop its assault.

"Sev!" Lily screamed when she saw a branch attack from behind, right towards his back.

Hermione stared in horror, unable to move. _If that branch hits,_ she thought in despair. _Then Severus will be paralyzed at best!_

Closing her eyes, Hermione waited for the scream of agony. When it didn't come, she opened her eyes and gaped in amazement when she saw James pulling Severus away from the danger. Once they were out of the tree's reach, he let Severus go and looked at Lily ashamedly.

"Evans," he started.

He didn't even finish when Lily ran up to him and slapped him with all that she had. There were tears of fear and fury in her emerald eyes, but she was refusing to let them spill over.

"You…you…arse," she said coldly. "Did you think that this was going to be a good laugh? Watch Sev get a little banged up while you watched from a safe distance?"

At least James had the decency to hang his head low. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"I'm not the one that you should be apologizing to," Lily snapped.

With a look on his face similar to one that someone would wear after eating lemons, James turned towards Severus. "I'm sorry, Snape," he muttered.

Severus glared at him and turned away.

From the shadows, Hermione saw a familiar black, shaggy dog staring at them. She knew that she wasn't supposed to know Sirius's animagus form, but at that moment he didn't care. She glared at him with so much fury that she surprised herself. It was only the small voice of her conscious that kept her from screaming at him.

"Let's go," she said to Lily and Severus. "I don't feel like staying with this company right now," she added with a pointed look at Sirius.

With Lily and Severus by her side, they headed back towards the castle. They were a little bruised and Severus was walking with a slight limp, but otherwise they were fine.

"You don't have to prove anything to me, Sev," Lily was whispering. "I know that they are jerks, but they do have their moments. But that doesn't excuse them for what they did."

"Are you going to try to get them expelled?" Hermione asked, worried despite herself.

Severus looked like he wanted nothing more than to say yes, but he shook his head. "The prat saved me," he said bitterly.

Hermione looked at Severus. "You're the bigger man tonight, Severus."

Severus looked back at her with a small, but grateful, smile. "Thanks, Hanley."

They parted ways and headed back towards their respected houses. Lily was still so furious that she didn't speak the rest of the way. When they were safely in their dorm and the door was closed behind them, Lily started cursing so loudly that Hermione had to put a silencing charm on the door.

"I can't believe that they did this!" Lily shouted. "Just who do they think they are?"

Hermione waited patiently while Lily vented and occasionally threw stuff. When Lily had calmed down enough, Hermione went up to her and pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay," she murmured.

"No, it's not," Lily sobbed. "Sev was almost killed, Jean! Why would they do something so stupid?"

"I don't know," Hermione murmured.

They sat in the floor for a while, the only sound being Lily's sobs. When Lily finally stopped crying, she looked at Hermione with a teary smile.

"I forgot to tell you something," she muttered. "I asked my parents' permission a few days ago and I finally got a reply."

"About what?" Hermione asked curiously.

Lily wiped her eyes. "You told me that you didn't know what you were going to do for summer vacations since you can't stay here. So, I asked my parents and they said that you can come stay with us for summer vacations until you get your own place."

Hermione was stunned. It was just so thoughtful and unexpected. Hermione burst into tears and hugged Lily tightly.

"I'll take that as a yes?" Lily giggled.

Hermione could only nod. Looked like she was going to have a talk with the potential murderer that she had for a headmaster in the morning.

* * *

**A/N- The reason why I do a lot of small time-skips is because I want to take this story through Hermione's remaining time at Hogwarts and beyond. Things are going to get interesting from here-on-out. Review! -Phoenix**


	8. Not Alone

**A/N- Review! –Phoenix**

* * *

Hermione glared at the entrance to Dumbledore's study, trying to force herself to enter the manipulative bastard's office. So far she had managed to avoid Dumbledore for the most part, but now she was seeking him out.

Summoning her Gryffindor courage, she gave the password and walked up the stairs towards her the man who would one day try to kill her.

"Enter," Dumbledore's voice came from the other side of the door.

Hermione sighed and entered the office. The headmaster was sitting behind his desk and was looking at Hermione like he might look at an insect.

"I just came to inform you that I will be spending the summer with Lily Evans."

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "Absolutely not," he snapped. "You have meddled too much in my time as it is. You will stay at whatever orphanage that I can get to take you for the summer."

Anger raced through Hermione's veins. "Pardon me, _Professor_," she said coolly. "But you don't have any right to dictate where I will live. You are not my legal guardian, and you are not my magical guardian."

"That can be changed," Dumbledore said lowly.

"No, it can't," Hermione retorted. "I made sure of that. Before school even started, I went to Gringotts and got the paperwork that I would need to prevent this. I already talked it over with her, and she agreed to be my legal and magical guardian until I am of age."

Dumbledore sat back in shock. "And who is this?"

"Me, Albus."

Dumbledore looked behind Hermione and gaped when he saw his deputy walk into the room. Minerva was walking up to Hermione and had a stern look on her face.

"Minerva," Dumbledore snapped. "What is the meaning of this?"

Minerva looked at Dumbledore in defiance. "I accepted the role of Miss Hanley's legal and magical guardian over Christmas break, Albus."

"Without my permission?" Dumbledore snapped.

"I was not aware that I needed your permission," Minerva snapped back. "Miss Hanley had been given the papers by the goblins before she started school here and she asked me to sign them during the break. While Miss Hanley is a mature young woman whose judgment I trust, I have the final say on matters of her housing and her education. And I have given my consent to allow Jean to spend the summer with Miss Evans, and you have absolutely no way in the matter, Albus."

Hermione was loving the completely stunned look on Dumbledore's face. "That's all that I wanted to tell you, Professor." Turning to Minerva she said, "And thank you again Professor McGonagall, I can't thank you enough."

Minerva waved away her thanks. "I am happy to do it, Jean. I have never seen a witch your age with your talent in transfiguration. Now, as your legal guardian, I feel obligated to remind you that OWLs are quickly approaching."

"And I won't let you down," Hermione promised.

She left the office before Dumbledore try to con her into obeying him. True to her word, she went right back to the common room to study for her OWLs which were quickly approaching. As she sat down in her usual study seat, she recalled her meeting with the goblins many months ago.

_Hermione stood on the steps to Gringotts with her new trunk sitting right by her feet. She was done shopping and it was time to go back to Hogwarts._

_With a weary sigh, she stepped through the doors and started heading towards the Floo. She was so focused on what she was going to do next that she didn't notice the middle-aged goblin standing in front of her until she almost ran into him._

"_Oh, I'm sorry," Hermione quickly apologized. "I wasn't paying attention."_

_The goblin arched an eyebrow and seemed to be holding back a sneer. "I am here to inform you that our Director requests your presence in his office."_

_Worry made Hermione shift uneasily on her feet. "What for?" she asked._

"_I am not at liberty to say," was all that the goblin said in reply._

_Suppressing a groan, Hermione followed the goblin. She was led to a rather large office door in the opposite direction of the mine carts. Her goblin escort knocked on the door and waited for a response._

"_Enter," a commanding voice replied._

_The goblin opened the door and led Hermione in. The office was large, but plainer than Hermione thought it would be. There were bookshelves lining the walls and a few portraits, but other than that and a desk with a few chairs, there was nothing remarkable about it._

_When her goblin guide turned to leave, Hermione looked back. "I never asked, but what is your name?"_

"_Gripfang," the goblin replied in surprise._

_Hermione smiled kindly. "Thank you for guiding me here, Gripfang."_

_Gripfang bowed his head and left the room. When the door shut behind him, Hermione turned her attention back to the desk and saw a rather scarred goblin sitting behind it. He watched Hermione through calculating eyes for a moment before he gave her a half-smile._

"_Please, take a seat," he said in a deep voice._

"_Why do you need to speak with me?" Hermione asked as she took the offered seat._

_The goblin tapped a finger on his desk. "My name is Ragnok, and I am the Head Goblin here at Gringotts. You are here to speak with me because you triggered one of our rather special alarms while you stood on our steps."_

_Hermione gasped and her heart began to pound. "W-what alarms?"_

_Ragnok leaned forward and frowned at her. "We have alarm spells that let us know when a wizard or witch who has tampered with time magic has approached Gringotts. When a wizard uses time magic, then their own magic has a different aura than other witches or wizards. We have this alarm in place so that wizards who use time-turners won't be able to foolishly attempt to rob Gringotts while their other self is in another location with a perfect alibi. But, what fascinates me is that your magic doesn't smell briefly touched by time-magic, it smells consumed by it. This can only mean two things: you didn't use a time-turner, and that you were sent back so far in time that you do not even exist yet and the time magic is sustaining your existence."_

_Hermione gaped at Ragnok. Never before in all of her times in the library had she ever read about something like this occurring._

"_Tell me," Ragnok ordered coldly. "Why have you tampered with time-magic? It is extremely dangerous and you can disrupt the flow of time."_

_Hermione took in a deep breath and met Ragnok's gaze. "I traveled back in time using the Mirror of Erised. I am from twenty years in the future. The war with Voldemort gets really bad and I came back to try and prevent countless deaths."_

_Ragnok studied her in silence for a moment before sighing deeply. "If that tale is indeed true, then you are showing typical wizard arrogance and playing with things beyond your comprehension. Think of it like this: you may prevent one death, but you may also be preventing a birth that happened due to the war. Would you be so willing to sacrifice one life for another?"_

"_Just because a birth or two people falling in love doesn't happen one way doesn't mean that it won't happen another," Hermione countered. "If it is meant to be then it will happen."_

"_The same could be said about the way those people die," Ragnok pointed out._

_Hermione cried out in frustration and angrily stood up. "I can't just sit by and do nothing," she exclaimed. "In my time, people are going to die and soon. There is going to be another war and if I can stop it then I sure as hell will try."_

_Ragnok seemed to be debating with himself for a moment before he sighed heavily. "You seem to be a rational person, so if you are willing to potentially destroy time as we know it, then things must have gotten pretty bad from here-on-out. Tell me the whole story of how you came to be here, but leave out certain details. The less I know about some things, the better."_

_Hermione smiled sadly and sat back down. She then spent the next half hour telling Ragnok her tale. From finding a friend searching for a diary to someone attempting to kill her while she passed through the Mirror of Erised._

_Throughout the entire tale, Ragnok sat back in his chair as he silently listened. When Hermione finished, his brow wrinkled as he became deep in thought._

"_Miss Granger," he said slowly, having been told her name during the story. "It sounds like from your story, that you-know-who was dead, and came back to life. Please explain this, as simply as possible so that I don't know too much."_

"_He was killed by a rebounded killing curse," Hermione explained. "Through a dark ritual, his spirit received a new body."_

_Ragnok pinched the bridge of his nose. "I have a theory, but I wish to keep it to myself for now. I believe your story, Miss Granger, and you will have my support. But, you cannot tell anyone of this. Neither goblin nor human. I will help you privately."_

"_Thank you, Ragnok," Hermione gasped in astonishment. Tears began pooling in her eyes and she hastily wiped them away. "You don't know how grateful I am for your help," she sniffed._

_Ragnok smiled. "There is something that we should most likely take care of though. You told me that Albus Dumbledore was not well-receiving of your presence. We goblins do not hold Dumbledore in as high regards as wizards do. I would not be surprised if he tried to make himself your guardian so that he could have control over you."_

"_What should I do?" Hermione asked worriedly._

_The Head Goblin opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a large stack of papers. He began going through them and once he found what he was looking for, he pushed it towards Hermione._

"_I can't find a guardian for you," Ragnok said. "That would leave an opening for too many questions. This is a legal and magical guardian form. If you can find a suitable adult who is willing, have him or her sign this form. Knowing Dumbledore, he won't try to start this process until very late thinking that you will sit idly by. The sooner you find someone willing, the sooner that I can process this."_

_Hermione took the form and looked it over. "It won't be easy," Hermione said worriedly. "I'll always be at Hogwarts."_

"_Then try for a teacher," Ragnok suggested. "I will have you know that Minerva McGonagall has done this before. She became the legal and magical guardian of an orphan so that the student wouldn't need to live in an orphanage. Minerva McGonagall would do this for every orphaned student if she could. Get close to her and I am sure that she will agree to it."_

_Hermione nodded and put the form in her shoulder bag. "Thank you, Ragnok," she repeated. "I will do research on how Voldemort could have survived like he did as well."_

_Ragnok nodded in agreement. "If either of us finds a solution, then we shall converse through owls. Until then, Miss Granger."_

_Hermione stood up and smiled. "If it's in public, then my name is Jean Hanley. But in private, then I am still Hermione Granger."_

"_Very well," he replied._

_After bidding farewell to Ragnok, Hermione left the office and headed towards the Floo. Now, she had one more thing to accomplish over the year._

Hermione sighed heavily as she realized that she hadn't heard anything from Ragnok since she sent him the guardian forms.

_I guess that he's having as much luck as I am solving the Voldemort mystery_, she thought sadly.

She continued studying until eleven at night. Just when she was about to call it a night, the portrait opened and Sirius walked through. When he saw Hermione he froze mid-step.

Still feeling furious for his dangerous prank, Hermione slammed her book shut and began walking towards the stairs. Before she could step up them, Sirius grabbed her elbow and stopped her in her tracks.

"Hermione," he whispered. "I am so sorry. Please, can we talk somewhere?"

"I have nothing to say to you," she responded coolly as she wretched her elbow free of his grasp. "I told you to leave Severus alone, and you thought it would be a good laugh to trick him into going to the Whomping Willow. You make me sick."

Sirius looked at her with a hurt expression on his face. "H-Hermione," he choked out.

Without listening to whatever else he had to say, Hermione raced up the stairs. When she made it to her room she found it to be empty much to her relief. The last thing that she wanted to do was explain to Lily why tears were streaming down her face when she didn't know the answer herself.

* * *

Hermione fidgeted anxiously next to Lily as she waited for her name to be called. The day that they were waiting for had finally come. It was the day that they took their OWLs.

So far, they had had their written exams and they were currently waiting to take their practical exam. They were up to the D's and Lily was going to be called any second.

It didn't help Hermione's nerves when Sirius had gone in and come out boasting about his great skills. But, Hermione couldn't help but notice that his words had seemed hollow. Ever since she had told Sirius off, he had been walking around as a shadow of what he usually was.

Not that I care, Hermione thought forcefully. He's a prat who could have gotten Severus killed along with Lily and I.

Finally, they called Lily's name. Lily stood up and gave Hermione a wavering smile.

"Wish me luck," she said nervously.

"Good luck," Hermione responded encouragingly.

After Lily left, Hermione felt herself trembling with anxiety. Further down the row of seats where students waited, she could feel the Marauders' gaze on her. But she wouldn't acknowledge them. She had no problem with Remus or Peter at the moment, but seeing as they were sitting with James they earned her temporary cold shoulder.

All too soon, she heard her aliases name.

"Jean Hanley."

Still shaking slightly, Hermione walked through the doors and walked up to the open desk. Sitting behind it was an old wizard who looked like he didn't want to be there.

"Let's get this over with Miss Hanley," he snorted. "Show me a shield charm."

As soon as she stopped anticipating what it would be like, Hermione did fine. Her shield charm got her proctor's attention and she kept on impressing him the whole time.

After her freezing hex wore off, Hermione stood tall with a big smile on her face.

"You aren't half-bad," her proctor said, impressed. "Now, just out of curiosity, can you do a Patronus Charm?"

Hermione's smile faltered a little bit. "I can't conjure a corporal one yet," she admitted.

"Show me," he encouraged.

Taking in a deep breath, Hermione focused on the memory of Minerva signing the guardian forms and her saying that she was proud of her.

"_Expecto_ _Patronum_!"

The familiar silver mist came from her wand. But, what shocked her was that it didn't look the same as the last time that she cast it. Before she could identify it, the smoke faded.

"Well, Miss Hanley," the proctor said with a delighted tone. "Your patronus started taking a shape! I could see four legs and a tail before it faded."

Hermione beamed. "I've never conjured such a complete one before."

She thanked her proctor and left the room. Once she was out of the room she felt a weight lift from her shoulders. She was done with her OWLs. The practical was the last exam and she had done well on it.

When she wasn't looking, Lily sprinted from the side of the hall and tackled Hermione with a hug.

"How'd you do?" she demanded enthusiastically. "I think that I did well. My Charms were undoubtedly better than my Transfiguration and Defense, but I don't think that I did terribly on those. How did you do?"

Hermione laughed and pulled back. "I think I did great. My proctor was really impressed. He asked me to show him my patronus and I managed to make a partially corporal one."

Lily's eyes shone. "Could you tell what it was?"

"He said that it had four legs and a tail," Hermione laughed. "That sure narrows it down."

Lily laughed with her. "Well, you're farther along than I am. You're at the same level as Peter now."

"I wish that we could do magic outside of school," Hermione sighed longingly. "Then we could practice during the summer."

"You're seventeen in September," Lily pointed out with a shrug. "So you only have a few months left of the age restrictions. I, on the other hand have until the end of January."

Hermione smiled kindly. "You'll be seventeen before you know it."

The two girls walked to Gryffindor Tower, gleefully laughing now that the stress of OWLs was no longer present. They walked up to their room and glanced around.

"I guess that we should start packing," Lily said. "The train leaves in two days."

Hermione considered this for a moment before she turned to Lily, smiling. "Let's go down by the lake," she said excitedly. "We're done with our fifth year, and the weather is just too beautiful to waste."

After Lily happily agreed, they grabbed their book bags with some fun reading and headed down to the lake.

When they got closer to the lake they were greeted by cheers and jeers. Hermione sighed heavily when she saw the four Marauders laughing at someone who was dangling in front of them.

"Oh, Sev," Lily cried.

She was about to push her way through the Marauders when Hermione stopped her.

"Let me," Hermione said coolly. "I think that it's time for James and Sirius to get a taste of their own medicine."

After Lily nodded grimly, Hermione let go and moved closer to the group of bullies.

_They just never learn_, she thought angrily. _When will they get their heads out of their arses_?

Pointing her wand at James, she said, "_Levicorpus_!"

James shouted in surprise when he was lifted into the air by his ankle. With his concentration broken, Severus started to fall but Lily slowed his descent with a simple levitation charm.

Sirius whirled around, prepared to hex Hermione to save his pal, but he faltered when he saw the murderous look in her eyes.

"You're worse than Slytherins," she spat. "You pick on those weaker than yourselves and you torment them. And what's worse is that you never learn! You're a bunch of bullies. And you two," she snarled, turning to face an embarrassed Remus and Peter. "How could you allow them to continue this horrid behavior? I have heard a lot about how the Marauders are the fun gang at Hogwarts since I came here, but I think that they're wrong. You lot are nothing but a bunch of bullies."

Still livid, she cancelled the jinx and James landed on the ground with a loud 'thud'. When Hermione turned to Severus she saw that he was glaring at her and she knew that she had wounded his pride by helping him in public.

"I didn't need your help," he snapped.

Hermione smiled kindly. "I know. And I think that it's commendable that you showed enough restraint to keep yourself from cursing them. I know that you are the better wizard and I thank you for not stooping yourself to their level."

Lily nodded in agreement. "She's right, Sev."

The two girls turned away from the group of gossiping students and headed back towards the castle. Their good mood was ruined and neither felt like celebrating anymore.

* * *

**A/N- I know that I've made James and Sirius to be jerks so far. But honestly they were jerks. If there's one thing that I can't stand, it's bullying. Don't worry though, they'll mature. Review! -Phoenix**


	9. Summer Vacation

**A/N- I had a snow day thanks to the huge storm so I thought that I would update. I love feedback, so if you like it enough to favorite my story or put it on your alerts, then please take the extra thirty seconds to let me know what you think! –Phoenix**

* * *

Hermione shifted anxiously on her feet as she stood next to Lily on Platform 9¾ for Lily's parents to arrive and pick them up. Even though Lily had assured her that her parents would love her, Hermione was still anxious. The only parents of a friend that she had ever really gotten to know before were Ron's parents.

"Stop twitching," Lily groaned. "You're making **me** nervous to see my parents."

Hermione forced herself to stop and grinned sheepishly at her friend. "Sorry, I haven't ever stayed a whole summer with a friend's parents. I'm nervous that they won't like me and that it will ruin your summer."

Lily rolled her eyes in exasperation, but she had a smile on her face. "My parents will love you. But, I would keep an eye out for my sister. She isn't…she isn't exactly supportive," she said, her smile fading.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said kindly.

Lily shrugged. "Just, please don't think any less of me or my family if she starts calling you 'freak'. She's actually just jealous that she isn't a witch."

Hermione's eyes widened at this new piece of information. After hearing Harry's horrible tales about his aunt, she never would have guessed that her actions were out of jealousy.

"Mom, Dad!" Lily suddenly shouted as she started waving her arm wildly.

Hermione followed Lily's gaze to see two middle-aged adults making their way toward them, wide smiles on their faces.

The man, who Hermione assumed was Lily's dad, had brown hair that was flecked with bits of gray. He had the same green eyes as Lily and he had a fit build. Lily's mom had light brown hair and blue eyes. But, the one who really caught Hermione's attention was the young woman who was standing close to the exit, as if hoping to avoid being seen.

The young Petunia Evans didn't look as ridiculously thin as Harry had described his aunt as. She was about the same height as her and Lily and she had a skinny build, but it wasn't unhealthy looking. Her eyes darted across the platform and behind the obvious disdain on her face, Hermione could recognize envy.

_She really does wish that she was a witch_, Hermione thought in amazement.

Before Hermione could think any more into it, Lily grabbed Hermione's arm and started dragging her towards the oncoming family. Lily immediately threw herself into her parents' arms for a hug and gave her sister an anxious smile.

"Hey, Petunia," Lily said kindly. "How was your year?"

Petunia scoffed and turned her head away. "I don't need to answer you," she said spitefully.

"Petunia," her mother scolded.

Lily shrugged sadly. "It's alright, Mum. Anyway, this is my friend, Jean."

Hermione waved nervously. "Hello, thank you so much for allowing me to stay with you this summer."

Mr. Evans laughed and clapped Hermione on the back. "Think nothing of it, Jean. We're happy to have you. Lily has told us so much about you and we've been looking forward to meeting you."

Hermione smiled. "She talks a lot about you too."

After Hermione introduced herself to Lily's mum, they loaded up their trunks in the car and got in. Before they drove away, Hermione looked out her window and scowled when she saw Sirius walking out of the train station by himself, pulling his trunk behind him. Her scowl immediately turned into a frown though when she saw how dejected Sirius looked. Like he really didn't want to go home.

They drove away and Hermione found herself looking out the back, following Sirius with her concerned brown gaze until he was no longer in sight.

Lily lived in a quiet-looking neighborhood in an average-sized house. Inside, the house was decorated warmly and had a very homey feel to it which Hermione liked. They showed Hermione the guest room where she was going to be staying and then they gave Hermione some time to unpack her trunk.

She put her clothes in the antique dresser and put her school books on top. Her hand stopped in her trunk when she saw the potions book that Severus had given her for Christmas. Just looking at the book sent Hermione's mind into planning mode.

_I can't do magic during the summer_, she thought. _But, that doesn't mean that I can't brew potions or practice clearing my mind for Occlumency like the diary mentioned_.

She quickly opened the potions book and opened it to the page that she had been studying a lot recently.

The inner beast potion was complicated to put it mildly. If she started brewing it right away, then it might be ready towards the end of summer. But, she didn't have access to a potions lab or the necessary ingredients.

There was a knock on the door and Hermione immediately covered the book and closed her trunk. "Come in," she called as she crossed over to the dresser to organize her books.

The door opened and Lily came in with a big smile on her face. "Hey Jean, do you like your room?"

Hermione smiled and nodded. "It's perfect."

Lily's eyes sparkled mischievously at the sight of the books on the dresser. "Of course you would unpack your books first," she teased.

"Like you don't?" Hermione smirked back.

Lily shrugged. "I guess I do," she admitted sheepishly. "C'mon, I want to show you around the neighborhood."

They were soon walking around the neighborhood. Lily often stopped to wave at her neighbors who she hadn't seen in a long time. Their tour of the small neighborhood ended at a small playground that was a relatively short distance from the house. Tapping into their inner-child, Hermione and Lily started playing on the swings, even though their legs were too long for the short swings.

"You live in a great neighborhood," Hermione said dreamily. "Everyone recognized you right away when you walked down the road. It must've been great to grow up in this neighborhood."

Lily nodded. "It was a great place to grow up," she agreed. With a small smile, she turned to Hermione. "Severus actually lives a couple minutes away from here."

"Really?" Hermione asked in surprise.

Lily nodded, but then her smile faded slightly. "His home situation isn't very good. He usually meets me here during the day to get away from his parents."

Hermione bit her lip in thought. "Does Severus have a potions lab at home?" she asked vaguely.

Lily thought about it for a moment before nodding. "I remember him telling me that his mum is great at potions. Why do you ask?"

This was the point that Hermione had been anxious about ever since she got the book from Severus at Christmas. It was sink or swim now. She needed to start trusting others.

"I have an idea for something we can do this summer that could help us survive in the war," Hermione said. "We're both muggleborns and we're bound to be targeted more than the others."

Lily frowned. "That's true," she admitted. "But, what does this have to do with Severus's potions lab?"

Hermione stood up and looked at Lily with a nervous smile. "Have you ever heard of the inner beast potion?"

* * *

Sirius sat on his bed in his depressing home at number 12 Grimmauld Place in London. The home was dark and the only sanctuary that he had was in his room which he had promptly turned into a mini Gryffindor common room.

With a sigh, he fell back and stared at the ceiling, as if he could will the summer to go by faster if he just stayed still enough.

His last moment of peace in his so called 'home' was interrupted when his door was opened and his little brother poked his head in.

Regulus was two years younger than Sirius himself and while Sirius was rather attractive, Regulus always had a guarded look on his average features. Unlike Sirius, Regulus was in Slytherin, much to his mother's pride, and had the pureblood idealism that all other Slytherins were taught in the cradle.

"What do you want, Regulus?" Sirius asked indifferently.

His Slytherin brother sneered. "Mother requested that I tell you to come down for dinner," he said coolly. "Personally, I would rather you go eat with your kitty friends."

Usually, the jibe would've gotten Sirius angry, but today he didn't rise to the taunt. Saying goodbye to his 'kitty friends' as Regulus had called them for the summer was always depressing for Sirius. They felt more like family than his actual brother did.

"I'll be down in a minute," Sirius sighed.

Not bothering to respond, Regulus closed the door.

Sirius waited as long as he could without getting yelled at before heaving himself to his feet and slowly treading down the dark hallway towards the dining room.

His father was sitting at the head of the Black table as usual with his mother at the end. Regulus was staring at him with cool eyes as he pulled out his chair and sat down.

"You kept us waiting for too long, Sirius," his father, Orion, wheezed. "A Lord of an Ancient House cannot be tardy."

Walburga, his mother, scowled at her husband. "He only just arrived back home, husband. He is surely tired."

Orion scowled right back. "So did Regulus. But, he was here on time. From now on Sirius, I expect you to be punctual to your obligations. Do I make myself clear?"

Sirius glared at his empty plate. "Yes, Father," he said through gritted teeth.

Not noticing Sirius's tone, Orion snapped his fingers. "Kreacher, our meal."

Then, the house elf that Sirius disliked as much as his family, apparated into the room. The elf bowed deeply and snapped his fingers. Immediately the table filled with plates that were filled with food. As the head of the house, Orion helped himself to everything and only when he was done could the rest of them fill their own plates.

As per usual, the meal proceeded in relative silence. Walburga would question Sirius every now and then about his school year, much to the chagrin of Regulus.

"I won't get my OWLs until later," Sirius said vaguely in response to his mother's latest question.

"Well I hope that those Gryffindors didn't distract you from your ultimate goal," Walburga said scornfully. "I see that you didn't request a house change from Dumbledore like I told you to."

Sirius bit his lip to calm himself. "I would never want to be in Slytherin even if I could get resorted," he said lowly when his temper was under control.

Orion glared at his eldest son. "Slytherin is a truly noble house that our family has been a part of for hundreds of years. You will mind your tongue. Just because you had the misfortune to be sorted into a house of lesser blood doesn't mean that you will scorn the legacy of Salazar Slytherin."

"The only ones who think that Slytherin is the best house are the Slytherins themselves," Sirius shouted, leaping to his feet. "Every other house sees Slytherin for what it really is, a place where prejudice and darkness is taught every from your first year. One lion is worth more than twenty snakes!"

"You will cease this foolishness at once!" Orion yelled, not bothering to rise to his feet. "I will not have this insubordination in my own house!"

"You can keep your house!" Sirius roared, tapping into his inner-lion. "Do you have any idea how awful it is for me to leave Hogwarts, my house, and my friends every Christmas and summer to come to this cold, dark place that is your house! This is not my home! This place is my cell!"

Walburga paled and gasped in pain and Regulus glared at Sirius with so much hatred that if looks could kill, Sirius would be dead twenty times by now.

"My darling boy," Walburga whispered. "Surely you don't mean that? We are your family, and family does not say such hurtful things. You will break my poor heart."

Sirius hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "I am your family," he said softly, as if admitting something that he didn't want to. "The things that I have learned from you have made an impact on my life, even if I didn't want to admit it. All the talk that you give me about pureblood supremacy stuck to a degree. Even if it isn't about blood, if I deem someone beneath me then I make their life a living hell. That's not the kind of man that I want to be!"

His family stared at him in astonishment. Never before had Sirius had such an outburst.

"You are of pureblood," Orion snapped. "You should feel superior to those beneath us. The Dark Lord has the right idea to blood superiority."

"But Father," Regulus said in astonishment, speaking for the first time. "I thought that you said that the Dark Lord was not one to follow?"

Orion shook his head angrily. "I don't think that he's the one to follow, but he has the right idea. There are other ways to support a good cause without actually fighting it. When you fight for something, you most likely lose something in return. I will not have this family lose everything because we fought for a good cause that might not go anywhere. Maybe one day, if we're fortunate, then the world will be eradicated of those filthy mudbloods. They are the lowest of the filth and their only use is to use their blood to fertilize our gardens."

Sirius stared at his father in horror. Soon, the horror turned to pure rage.

_Hermione and Lily are muggleborn_, he thought furiously. _And my family thinks that they are only good to fertilize their garden? They are the best witches of our generation and can cast spells around anyone. They are certainly worth more than I am…_

Sirius stepped away from the table, looking coolly at his father. "I will not live like this anymore," he said dangerously. "Two of my greatest friends are muggleborn, one of whom is the kindest, most beautiful witch that I have ever had the pleasure to meet. She is worth more than anyone in this family a hundred, no, a thousand times over."

"You fancy a mudblood?" Walburga screamed.

Finally honest with himself, Sirius smiled and nodded. "I do. And I promise myself, that I will work to improve myself until I deserve of her affection, maybe even her love. How's that for the Black name?"

Orion leapt to his feet in rage. "Insolent boy!" he shouted. "You will not sully this family's good name by mating with a mudblood!"

When the Head of the Ancient House of Black reached for his wand, Sirius swiftly ducked out of the room and sprinted up the stairs. He closed his door and activated the locks that his father had kindly installed at Sirius's insistence many years ago. On the other side of the door he heard his father panting as he raced to the door and started deactivating the locks one by one.

Not having much time, Sirius opened his still unpacked trunk and shoved some more items that were usually left behind during the school year. In less than a minute, Sirius had his trunk full to burst, and his bottomless and weightless book bag (a long forgotten gift from a relative) stuffed with as much stuff as Sirius could grab.

"Tilly!" Sirius called.

Immediately, the familiar sound of elf apparition filled the room. Standing in front of him was a small, timid, female house elf who looked terrified at her surroundings.

"Mister Sirius summoned me?" the house elf said fearfully.

Sirius nodded. "Take me to James!" he ordered.

Tilly nodded and grabbed his hand. Sirius saw the door open and his father's furious face lunging for him before Tilly safely apparated them away.

When they landed, Sirius sat down heavily on his trunk and held his head in his hands as he tried to calm his racing heart. He wasn't there for more than a minute when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder. He lifted his weary head to see his best mate looking at him with a sad expression on his face.

"You alright?" James asked.

Sirius looked at James for a moment before shaking his head. "I left my family," he said bluntly. "And I'm never going back. Thank you for letting me call Tilly in case of emergencies."

James waved away the thanks. "I knew that you would never call her unless you really needed to. C'mon mate, let's get you unpacked. This will be your home from now on. Welcome to Potter Manor."

* * *

**A/N- I read somewhere that Orion and Walburga were Sirius's parents names (I couldn't remember them being mentioned in the books), and I read that Sirius ran away after his fifth year. Even if these aren't accurate, I'm sticking with it. But, I hope that everyone liked my reasoning for why Sirius is such a bully and now that he has admitted his feelings for Hermione, maybe he'll start becoming the man that we all know and love. Review! -Phoenix**


	10. Inner Beast Potion

**A/N- I read that Sirius ran away when he was sixteen which he is. But oh well, not everything you read on the internet is true hehe. Review! –Phoenix**

* * *

Hermione took care to slice the lacewing larvae in the precise way that Severus had ordered. There was absolutely no room for error with this potion. But, it helped that three of the smartest people in their year were the brewers.

It was the end of July and they were reaching the end of the brewing stage for the inner beast potion. Knowing how long it took to brew the potion, Hermione had convinced Lily to take her to Severus's house after Lily had gotten over the initial shock at Hermione's suggestion.

Even Severus knew what she was planning on doing, he was still shocked when she had bluntly said what her plan was and that she wanted to use his family's potions lab. Even though Hermione had come to consider Severus to be a friend, she was still wary of betrayal. So, while the three of them brewed the potion, Hermione did some secret research on the side for a solution.

Hermione added one lacewing larvae every twentieth stir and when that was done she set the flame underneath the cauldron to its lowest setting for it to simmer for another twenty-four hours. After she documented the steps that she did and the exact time that she set the potion to simmer, she put the supplies back in the cabinet and walked out of the basement back upstairs.

She found her two friends sitting in the kitchen, laughing about something while a large pitcher of iced tea sat between them. Looking at the two of them, she saw the familiar gaze that they each held for each other, even though both were completely different.

When Lily looked at Severus, Hermione could see the love Lily for her oldest friend shining in her emerald eyes. But, when Severus looked at Lily, Hermione could see undying love in his dark gaze. Hermione had known that Severus liked Lily in a romantic sense, but she hadn't realized that he really loved her until they all started working closely together this summer.

_It won't work out_, Hermione thought sadly. _Even though I have changed the past a lot since I've come, one thing that can't change is Lily getting together with James. Even though I completely agree with James being a prick half the time, he has to grow up eventually. I just pray that Lily falls in love with James the man and that it happens soon._

"Potions set for the next twenty-four hours," Hermione said, announcing herself to the duo.

Lily looked up and smiled at Hermione while Severus looked a little irritated that their moment was interrupted.

"It won't be long now till the potion is ready," Lily said happily. "I hope that all three of us are capable of becoming animagi."

Hermione nodded and took a hesitant breath. "Another thing about that," she began carefully. "I've been considering a way to surely keep our forms a secret from the others. In times like these, secrecy is vital sometimes."

Severus looked at her with hard eyes, as if he knew that Hermione was afraid that he would be the one to betray their secret. But, to Hermione's surprise, he nodded in agreement. "I agree, Jean. If we train to become animagi then it must be a secret from everyone. What do you propose?"

Hermione opened her book bag that she had slung around her shoulder and took out an old text that she had purchased long ago from Diagon Alley when she originally came through the Mirror. She set the text on the table and opened it up to the marked page. Lily and Severus looked over and their eyes widened in astonishment at the spell in front of them.

"You want to cast the Fidelius Charm?" Lily asked in surprise. "We can't even use magic until we get back to Hogwarts."

"That's not necessarily true," Severus said slowly. "My mother is a witch and this is her registered place of residence. The ministry can't prove who cast spells in a registered home."

Hermione and Lily frowned angrily. "Then that puts muggleborns at a serious disadvantage when they enter school!" Lily exclaimed. "Other witches or wizards who live in registered houses can use magic and not be caught!"

Severus shrugged. "That's how it is. If we cast the charm here then the ministry won't be able to tell that it was us who cast it."

"But what if they come asking your mother?" Lily asked anxiously.

"They won't have any reason to doubt it," Severus assured her. "The ministry trusts parents of students to keep their children in line when they're home. My mother doesn't care if I cast magic; I do it all the time at home."

That made Hermione feel better, somewhat, but Lily was still irritated. "Anyway," Hermione continued. "I've been doing research, and the Fidelius can be used to hide people. So, why not hide a part of a person? If we set the secret to hide our possible animagus forms then no one but the Secret Keeper can reveal it. We could cast it right after we drink the potion before we share our forms and then the secret would keep so long as it's specific to us becoming animagi and what our forms are."

Lily and Severus looked impressed. "But, who would be our Secret Keepers?" Severus asked.

"We would each be our own Secret Keepers," Hermione answered. "Home owners are their own Secret Keepers all the time, so why can't we be our own Secret Keepers for our forms?"

"That's brilliant," Lily said enthusiastically. "We have two days until the potion is ready, so we all need to learn as much as we can about the charm to minimize error."

Severus's eyes grew warm at Lily's enthusiasm. "Someone else would have to be the caster if we're to be our own Secret Keepers."

"I can cast it for you two," Hermione said. "But I would need someone to do it for me."

"I'll do it," Lily said immediately. "You're one of my best friends Jean; of course I'll do it for you."

Hermione smiled, cringing inwardly at the constant lie that is Jean. "Thanks Lily. I've been practicing the wand movement and the theory, I'll teach it to you two."

Two days and many hours of practice later, the potion was ready.

They were gathered in Severus's basement. Lily and Hermione cast simple charms to keep Severus's parents out for the duration of the time that they would be under the influence of the potion. While they did that, Severus did a final check over on the potion, making sure that it was perfect. There was no room for error with this potion.

After they were done with their preparations, they each sat down on the floor that Lily had suggested that they cushioned, with a glass of the blue potion in each of their hands.

Each of them looked at the potion anxiously. Now that the time was finally here, they were all beginning to wonder if they were being completely stupid over this. The animagus process was terribly dangerous and there were dozens of things that could go wrong.

"Are we sure about this?" Lily asked nervously. "I mean, once we do this and we find that if we do have forms, then none of us are going to want to stop until we've finished this process."

Severus smiled softly at her. "I have triple checked this potion and I can tell you with confidence that the potion is perfect. Plus, we're all really talented with magic and I believe that we can do this."

Lily looked a little better after Severus's reassurance. "Let's do this then before I change my mind," she said determinedly.

Hermione nodded in agreement. "On three then. One…two…three."

On three they all drank their potion. When the potion was gone, they put their empty glasses to the side and waited.

None of them were completely sure about what was going to happen. But, after a minute of nothing, they all looked at each other anxiously.

"What went wrong?" Hermione asked. "We did everything right, didn't we?"

Before she could get her answer, Hermione started feeling really tired. Her eyes felt like they were made of lead and she struggled to keep them open. She scarcely noticed that Lily and Severus appeared just as tired as she did. Lily was the first to lose the battle to stay awake and fell back into a deep sleep.

"Lily," Severus said in an exhausted tone. He reached out to her, but his eyes finally shut and he too collapsed on the floor in a deep sleep.

Hermione looked between her two friends and tried to reach out to them but her arms wouldn't work. Her vision started to get blurry and it started taking her more and more time to open her eyes again when they drooped closed.

Finally giving up the fight, she gently laid herself on the floor and let her eyes close as the sleep overcame her.

* * *

_Hermione opened her eyes and found herself sitting in her favorite place in the world: the Hogwarts library._

_The overwhelming sleep that she had felt was gone and she felt full of energy. She got up and started browsing the tall bookcases, temporarily losing herself in the large number of texts._

_She didn't know how long she was looking at the books when a faint spark of remembrance forced its way to the front of her mind._

"_I'm not really at the library," she said aloud. She looked around her surroundings and frowned sadly. "What sort of animal lives in the library? I guess that I don't have an animagus form," she said bitterly._

_A loud 'thump' sounded behind her, making her jump in alarm. Twirling around, she let out a breath of relief when she saw that the cause of the noise was simply a book falling on the floor._

_She walked forward and picked up the ancient book from the floor. Taking the extra second to brush away the dust, she put the book back on the shelf._

_As soon as that book was back in place, another 'thump' sounded behind her. She turned around to find another ancient text sprawled out on the floor. Again, the dusted off the text and put it back on the shelf._

_After it happened for a third and fourth time, Hermione started getting irritated._

"_Who's there?" she demanded. "Whoever you are, leave these texts alone. You're damaging them!"_

_A soft laugh echoed all around her._

"_Poor little texts, the bookworm cares only about the texts," a female voice said. "What happens when the texts are gone little bookworm? Who remains? Are you content to live alone among words on parchment for the rest of your life?"_

"_Who are you?" Hermione shouted, ignoring the sting from the voice's words._

"_I am you, you are me."_

_Hermione frowned in frustration. "A little less cryptic please."_

_Instead of a verbal response, Hermione saw a shadow sprint between the bookshelves. Hermione raced after the shadow, weaving between the massive bookshelves. The library was too dark for Hermione to tell just what she was chasing, but something inside her kept telling her that she had to keep chasing or she would deeply regret it._

_She sprinted around the final bookshelf in the row and fought to catch her breath. When her lungs were no longer gasping for air, she searched for the shadow. To her dismay, it was gone._

"_Where are you?" she called._

_The laugh sounded from all around her. "Where would you hide in a library?" the voice asked and then it was gone._

_Hermione immediately knew where the shadow was. She expertly navigated herself through the bookshelves and only stopped when she came to her favorite studying place in the back of the library._

"_Where are you?" she repeated_

_The voice laughed again. "I am never far from you," she said._

"_Enough of the riddles," Hermione snapped. "What do you want?"_

"_I want what you want," the voice responded, all amusement gone._

_Hermione groaned in frustration. "Would you at least reveal yourself?"_

_The voice remained silent for a moment before the shadow leapt on the table in front of Hermione. It was still too dark for Hermione to see it clearly. As if to answer her problem, a torch that hung near the table suddenly lit, finally shining light in the dark library. Hermione's eyes widened in surprise when she finally saw the figure that had been taunting her._

_It was a cat. The cat had long, thick fur with patches of various shades of brown. She sat with a very dignified posture and met Hermione's gaze defiantly with her own chocolate-brown eyes._

"_You're a cat," Hermione stated in shock._

_The cat nodded. "I am," she agreed. "I am a tortoiseshell cat. Now, what is it that you want from me? From yourself?"_

_Hermione stared at the tortoiseshell cat. "You're my animagus form, aren't you?" After the cat nodded in affirmative, Hermione's eyes glowed. "I do have a form!"_

_The cat hissed impatiently. "Of course you do. A rather spectacular one if I do say so myself."_

_Hermione rolled her eyes. "How did I get a self-centered animagus form?"_

"_I am a representation of your inner animal," she hissed. "And that means that you too have been self-centered from time to time."_

"_I am not self-centered!" Hermione said indignantly._

_The cat shrugged an awkward gesture on a cat. "I cannot lie. Do you deny that whenever something that is important with school, you cast off all other things? I will admit that you have become less self-centered as the years went on, but it is still there."_

_Hermione flushed. "So you represent my negative qualities?"_

"_I represent you," the cat said. "Both positively and negatively. True, cats can usually serve themselves first and others second if it still interests the cat. But, we serve those who we deem worthy of our time. Cats are proud, quick, and intelligent and we have been known to fight quite a few snakes if you get my drift."_

_Hermione bit her lip as she considered this. Those traits did sound a bit like her._

"_If you are to make any use of me," the cat continued. "Then you need to accept me completely. You cannot pick the good without also accepting the bad."_

_Hermione smiled and bent over so that she was eye-level with the tortoiseshell cat. "I'll accept you," Hermione said. "A cat is not the worst form there is."_

_The cat's brown eyes flashed angrily and lashed out at Hermione with her front paw. Hermione gasped in pain as the cat's claws slashed across her cheek. Hermione stepped back and put a hand to her cheek, she could feel the blood flowing between her fingers._

"_What was that for?" she gasped._

"_If you are to completely accept me," the cat snarled. "Then you need to believe that there is nothing better for you to change into than me. You need to yearn to become a cat down to your very core. Until then, you will not be granted my form."_

_Hermione stared at the cat in astonishment. "Is that why it is so rare for wizards and witches to animagi? It isn't that they lack the ability, it's because they can't fully accept their form?"_

_The cat nodded. "You'd be surprised at how many wizards and witches simply let their animagus forms wither and die. If a form is not fully tapped into, then it fades away into nothing."_

"_And that will happen to you if I don't fully accept you," Hermione stated quietly._

_Again, the cat nodded, but it refused to let fear into her gaze. She stared back at Hermione in defiance, as if she was daring her to pity her._

_Hermione sighed and sat down heavily in one of the chairs by the table. "How do I accept you fully?"_

"_I do not know," the cat admitted. "But, you do not have to stay here. If you wish to leave, then you can."_

"_But if I leave then you will fade!" Hermione objected. "I can't leave anyone to that fate! Even if it takes me forever, I won't leave until I can accept you fully."_

_The cat twitched its whiskers in amusement. "You staying here forever would be even worse. You would fade too."_

_Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes though she couldn't completely understand why. This cat had been completely rude to her and had even clawed her, but the thought of losing this part of her made her heart hurt._

"_What's your name?" Hermione asked suddenly._

_The cat's ears twitched in surprise. "I have no name," she admitted. "I am just a part of you."_

"_But if I have a name, then you should have one too," Hermione insisted. "A name worthy of a cat as beautiful as you."_

_The cat purred at the praise. "What would you have in mind?"_

"_I think Fluffy and Mittens are out of the question," Hermione mused._

_The cat shuddered at the very suggestion. "God no."_

_They spent the better part of an hour going through names. Soon, Hermione found herself laughing with the cat at some of the ridiculous names that people named their cats._

_Their laughter was interrupted when the cat suddenly shuddered and began panting heavily._

"_Are you alright?" Hermione asked in alarm._

_Not wanting to admit weakness, the cat nodded and sat straighter. "I am fine," she panted._

_Hermione gaped at her. "You're running out of time aren't you?"_

_The cat hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I am. And that means that you must leave. I do not know if you will last much longer than I will."_

"_I will not leave you," Hermione snapped. "What about Alma? Artemis? Diana?"_

_The cat shook her head at each suggestion. The pants began to make her too weary and she lay down on the table._

"_Gaia? Hiisi? Isis?" Hermione asked desperately._

"_You must go," the cat said weakly. "Thank you for trying, but you cannot do it in time. You have already been here for too long."_

_Hermione shook her head and without thinking grabbed the cat and put her on her lap. She began gently stroking the cat's fur, earning a purr. "Your fur is so soft," she mused out loud. "My hair is such a bushy mess that I wonder why yours is so nice."_

_The cat purred at the compliment. "I like your hair though. It's untamable, much like a cat."_

_Hermione giggled and didn't notice the tears that began to drip down her face. "I guess that I am like a cat. If I got to be as pretty as you, then I would love it."_

"_Cats are a pretty common trait in many witches and wizards," the cat admitted. "But, no two cats are alike. Some cats are lazy while others are hunters."_

"_And what are you?" Hermione asked._

_The cat thought about it for a moment. "I am a fighter," she said firmly. "I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves even if I am outmatched. I am motherly. I am reliable. I am a warrior."_

_Tears dripped on the cat's fur as it began growing transparent. "That sounds nice," Hermione sniffed. "I know the perfect name for you."_

"_What is it?" the cat asked weakly as it began to fade even more._

"_Bast," Hermione said decidedly. "The Egyptian goddess. She was considered to be motherly and a fighter, just like you."_

"_Bast," the cat, now Bast, whispered in awe. "I like it."_

"_A name worthy of a cat as beautiful as you," Hermione cried._

"_You cry for me," Bast observed as she used her last bit of energy to cuddle against Hermione's stomach._

"_Of course I do," Hermione sobbed._

"_Why?"_

"_Because I am losing you! You are a part of me, good and bad, and if I lose you then I lose a part of myself! I don't want you to fade away!"_

_At Hermione's declaration, Bast's body started re-solidifying. Slowly, the spark of life started returning to her chocolate-brown eyes. Bast and Hermione stared at astonishment as Bast's body ceased fading entirely and looked as if nothing had happened at all._

"_You're alright!" Hermione said happily as she hugged Bast to her._

_Bast meowed in surprise but in turn nuzzled Hermione's cheek affectionately. "I guess that you realized that there isn't anything better than being a cat," she said teasingly._

"_Everybody wants to be a cat," Hermione giggled._

"_I know that you'll achieve the transformation," Bast said confidently. "And then you'll fully understand the amazement of what you'll be. But now, you need to wake up."_

"Jean, wake up."

"_I'll see you soon," Bast promised._

"Jean."

Hermione wearily opened her eyes to find herself staring at the concerned gazes of both Lily and Severus.

"How long have we been out?" she croaked.

Severus helped her sit up while Lily went to grab bottled water from her bag. After Hermione took a long gulp of water, she rubbed her face only to hiss when her cheek stung horribly.

"You got cuts on your face out of nowhere," Severus explained. "Lily and I were asleep for an hour, but you've been out for over five."

"Five hours?" Hermione gasped. "It didn't seem that long at all. Lily are your parents worried about you? Severus are your parents asking questions?"

Both shook their heads. "Everything is taken care of," Lily assured her. "You had us worried though, we didn't know if you would ever wake up. You nearly gave me a heart attack when those cuts appeared."

Hermione smiled. "My form has a temper," she admitted. "Let's do the charm before we do anything else."

"Are you sure that you're up for it?" Lily asked worriedly.

Hermione nodded and stood shakily. "I've been asleep for over five hours, I'm rested."

They decided to do Severus first; actually he insisted that he be the guinea pig instead of Lily. He sat on a stool in front of Hermione looking rather well-composed for someone who was about to be spelled.

"Are you sure about this Severus?" Hermione asked for the tenth time.

For the tenth time, Severus rolled his eyes. "This was your idea. Just do it before you talk me out of it."

Hermione nodded and pointed her wand at Severus. She performed the extremely complicated wand movement and confidently said the incantation. A bright, white light emitted from her wand and enveloped Severus completely.

Hermione and Lily shielded their eyes. The light lasted for a minute and when it faded Severus was revealed, unharmed.

"Did it work?" Lily asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Only one way to find out," Severus responded. He got up from the stool and walked over to Lily. He then put his mouth close to her ear and whispered something that Hermione couldn't catch. When he was done he stepped away with a slight blush on his cheeks. "Now, repeat my secret."

Lily nodded and opened her mouth. "Severus's animagus form is a-a-a-a," she suddenly started to gag and had to breathe deeply for a few seconds to make it stop. Then she beamed at Severus's worried gaze. "It worked! I can't share your secret! Now Jean, cast it on me if you still have enough energy."

Hermione nodded and cast the charm once more on Lily. When Lily was done, it was Hermione's turn. She sat down on the stool and stared anxiously at Lily who looked just as anxious.

"Ready?" Lily asked. When Hermione nodded, she cast the charm.

It was not like Hermione thought it would feel. The best way that she could describe it is something inside of her mind to be permanently locked to the front of her mind while also having a red-alert all around it. She knew then that she would always know her secret and that she would always be wary of who she told the secret to.

"Did it work?" Lily asked.

"It worked," Hermione said confidently. "My animagus form is a tortoiseshell cat."

"My animagus form is a raven," Severus told her.

Lily beamed. "My animagus form is a doe."

Hermione smiled at Lily's secret. She then knew that this was the first step to Lily and James getting together as James's form was a stag.

"I guess there's nothing else to do but start then," Hermione said happily. "We've got a month left of summer, we're going to be rather busy."

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**A/N- Cool, a nice long chapter. I thought that a raven suited Severus well and I did not want Hermione to be an otter. If every witch or wizard turned into their animagus form then Severus would have been a doe which is weird. I think a cat fits better for Hermione anyway. Review! -Phoenix**


	11. Truth

**A/N- I'm trying to make up for my infrequent updates on this story by working solely on it for a little while. Review! –Phoenix**

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Sirius whooped in delight as he scored a goal on Remus in the Potter's Quidditch pitch. It was the last week of summer and the four Marauders were hanging out at James's house until they went to Diagon Alley in a couple hours as per tradition ever since they became a tight knit group.

They played until ten o'clock when Remus pointed out that they needed to get going. When the brooms were put away, they went inside and headed to the fireplace to use the Floo.

"Are your parents coming this year James?" Peter asked as he took a handful of powder.

James laughed and put the jar back on the mantel. "We don't need babysitters Peter, we're sixteen. All they want is for me to pick up more Floo powder."

Sirius threw an arm around Peter's shoulder. "Lighten up Peter. We're gonna have a blast today! We're starting our sixth year in a week!"

Peter rolled his eyes and shrugged Sirius's arm off good-naturedly. "Let's go you prats," he laughed.

Laughing, the four friends entered the fireplace one at a time and Flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. When they were all through the fireplace and dusted off, they entered Diagon Alley.

Like it always was during the last week of summer, the Alley was crowded with students who were shopping for their school supplies. Their first stop was Zonko's Joke Shop where they stocked up on supplies for the new year of pranking.

With their arms fuller and their pockets emptier, they left the shop and did some more shopping. New robes were needed as theirs were now too short. They stopped at the robes shop and while their robes were being made, they decided to get the necessary school supplies.

After they purchased refills for their potions kits, they decided to go to the bookstore.

"I hate the bookstore," James grumbled. "It always smells so dusty. Only a real nerd could love being in the bookstore for longer than necessary."

"You know, Lily loves the bookstore," Peter pointed out. "She and Jean told me that they love the smell of old books."

James scowled at Peter. "And I needed to know that why?"

Peter, to his credit, stood his ground. "Because if you fancy Lily, then you shouldn't go on insulting the places that she loves."

Remus nodded in agreement. "Peter is right. Plus, I like the smell of old books too."

James scowled for a moment longer before shrugging. "Whatever. Let's just buy our books and be done with it."

The four friends went into the bookstore and quickly got their required texts. Sirius was laughing at something that James said when a voice that made his stomach stir echoed from the back of the bookstore.

"Lily, that book definitely seems to be the better purchase," it said. "Look at all of the information that there is compared to the other one."

"But Jean," Lily protested. "Look at the variety that this one has."

"I believe that quality is better than quantity," Hermione responded.

Sirius quickly grabbed James's arm and dragged him, protesting, along the bookshelves. When they got to the back, Sirius stopped short as he felt his heart skip a beat.

Hermione was standing next to Lily as they poured over their texts. She had gotten fit over the few short months that they had been apart. Sirius had thought that she was beautiful before, but now he thought that she was just plain gorgeous.

Her normally pale skin now had a nice tan and her arms looked nice and fit in the t-shirt that she was wearing. Her bottom looked very firm in the jeans that she was wearing, nearly turning Sirius into a drooling moron. Sun had turned her brown hair a shade lighter and her hair had somehow become tamer. Now instead of bushy, it was really wavy.

Next to him, Sirius could tell that James was having a similar reaction to Lily whose appearance had changed similarly to Hermione's, but at that moment, Sirius only had eyes for Hermione.

"Lily," James breathed out, snapping Sirius out of his spell.

The two girls whipped their heads around and Sirius noted sadly how Hermione's eyes narrowed disapprovingly at the sight of them.

"Hello boys," Lily said politely. "How was your summer?"

James smiled stupidly. "It's been great. You look like you got a lot of sun."

While Lily and James exchanged pleasantries, Hermione gazed at Sirius with her cool, chocolate-brown gaze.

"Jean," Sirius said softly, remembering at the last second to use her alias's name. "Can we talk?"

Hermione gazed at him for a moment before nodding. "Fine. I'll be right back," she said to Lily.

They went to a private corner where Hermione crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly. "Well?" she said after a few moments of silence.

Sirius ran his hand through his hair anxiously. "I just wanted to say…that I'm sorry that I've been such a prat this past year, even if it wasn't to you. I may not like Snape, but that doesn't give me the right to torment him like I did. Will you give me another chance?"

Hermione's eyebrows rose in surprise, but she didn't say anything. "I'm not the one that you should apologize to," she pointed out crudely.

"I know, and I'll apologize to Snape when I see him," Sirius said begrudgingly. "But, I just can't bear the thought of you thinking me a poor man."

The hard gaze softened and Hermione smiled. "Well, you're making it difficult to think that when you get all remorseful," she teased. "If you apologize to Severus and if you leave him be, then maybe I'll start believing what you say."

Sirius smiled. "It's a start," he said cheerfully. "So what have you been doing this summer? Obviously you've spent a lot of time in the sun."

Hermione gave a secretive smile. "Lily and I have been working out this summer. We decided to take something into our own hands and we dedicated our summer to it."

"What?" Sirius asked curiously.

Hermione shook her head. "I won't tell you, at least not yet. Now excuse me, Lily and I need to get going."

Sirius frowned sadly when Hermione left him alone to join Lily. Not wanting to give up, he followed her.

"Do you girls want to get ice cream with us?" Sirius asked quickly before they could leave.

The girls looked at each other hesitantly. "We're meeting someone shortly," Lily answered. "We have to get going."

"Quickly then?" James asked hopefully.

Lily shook her head. "Another time perhaps. See you later boys."

The two girls grabbed their pile of books and quickly went to pay. They gave Remus and Peter a cheerful greeting while they handed over their money and put their books in their bottomless book bags. After a cheerful farewell, the two girls left the bookstore without looking back.

Sirius frowned at the abruptness of their departure. "Why wouldn't they tell us who they were meeting?" he wondered out loud.

James shrugged. "Girls," he said simply.

"Do you have your cloak?" Sirius asked.

"Of course."

"Then let's find some answers," Sirius said softly.

James looked uncomfortable. "I don't know mate. Spying doesn't really seem like the best thing to do to the girls that we fancy."

He had a point there, but something was nagging at Sirius's gut to find out Hermione's secret. "You don't have to go then," he said. "But I have this gut feeling that they're up to something."

"It's not really any of our business," James pointed out. "But, I have the same feeling. Should we involve Remus and Peter?"

Sirius hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "I hate lying to them, but it's probably for the best."

James nodded in agreement. "We'll tell them that we're going to check out the Quidditch store, you know how they hate going in there with us, and that we'll meet up with them later at the ice cream shop."

They were in agreement and after they told the lie to their two friends, they left the bookstore and crept to a secluded space where James threw his family heirloom over both of them, rendering them invisible.

It took them a little while to find the two girls in the large crowd, but Lily's red hair was like a beacon in the wave of dark colors.

"It looks like they're heading to Gringotts," James whispered.

He was right. The girls confidently towards Gringotts, but at the last second, they turned and walked into a dark alley. Worried, the two boys followed them. They were shocked when they entered the dark alley to find it empty.

"What the…" Sirius started to whisper before he was interrupted by a leg-locking curse from behind.

Cursing, the two boys fell to the ground, the cloak falling off as they went down. Sirius and James fumbled for their wands, but their attackers silently summoned them before they could reach them.

They both heard two exasperated sighs in front of them. When they turned towards the direction of the sound they were shocked to see Hermione and Lily appear seemingly out of midair.

"Didn't your mothers ever tell you that it's not polite to follow someone?" Lily asked in amusement.

Hermione giggled and twirled Sirius's wand in her hand. "We knew that you were following us from the beginning."

Sirius frowned and struggled to no avail to move his legs. "You didn't need to hex us," he mumbled.

"You were the ones following us," Hermione pointed out.

"Because I know that you're hiding something Hermione!" Sirius barked before he could stop himself.

Silence filled the alley. Hermione's eyes showed her hurt while Lily's betrayed anger.

"Who's Hermione?" James asked.

Sirius gaped in horror at what he had done. "I-I," he stuttered.

Hermione shrugged. "My real name is Hermione," she told James. She turned to Lily whose eyes were blazing. "It's alright Lily."

"No it's not Hermione!" Lily snapped. "Sirius betrayed your trust!"

"You know?" Sirius asked Lily.

Lily rolled her eyes. "She told me over the summer. But that doesn't make it okay to betray her trust like that."

Sirius bowed his head in shame. It seemed that no matter what he did, he always hurt the girl that he liked. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I don't want to hurt you anymore."

Hermione's eyes softened. "It's alright Sirius," she said softly. Turning to James she said, "My real name is Hermione. I had to lie about my name to protect myself. I plan on telling Peter and Remus eventually, but not yet."

James nodded silently. "I'm sorry that you felt that you couldn't tell me sooner," he said sincerely. "I know that you think that I'm a bit of a prat, but I'm not a bad guy."

"I know you're not," Hermione said with a smile.

"So what are you doing?" Sirius asked, unable to ignore his gut feeling.

The two girls shared a pointed look for a moment, looking uneasy. Finally, Lily nodded.

"More help would be nice," she said. "And we can make them keep the secret."

Hermione still looked uneasy and Sirius remembered how hard it was for her to trust people.

Unable to bear Hermione's pain, Sirius literally dragged himself over to her as his legs were still locked. Pushing himself into a kneeling position, he grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her down gently so that she too was kneeling.

Ignoring her stunned look, Sirius gently stroked her cheek. "I know that trust is hard for you," he said softly. "And that I haven't helped you in that regard. But, will you give me another chance?"

Hermione blushed and looked away. "I'm not sure," she whispered.

"Sometimes you need to go with your heart instead of your head," Sirius said teasingly.

Despite herself, Hermione chuckled. "I do tend to follow my head," she admitted. Seeing the devoted look in Sirius's eyes, something in her melted. With a smile, she stood up and canceled the hex on both James and Sirius. "Alright, I'll take a leap of faith with you two. But, you two also need to keep an open mind with what you're going to learn."

Sirius stood up and took his wand back. "I will," he promised.

"Me too," James said as he stood up and took his wand back from Lily. When he took it back, their fingers brushed for the briefest second, causing them both to blush. James looked happy about it while Lily looked confused.

"Let's go then," Hermione said with a smile.

The four of them walked into Gringotts and followed Hermione as she led them up to one of the goblins. "Hello Gripfang," Hermione said cheerfully. "You're looking well. Ragnok is expecting us," she told him.

To Sirius's surprise, the goblin smiled. "You look well as well. Follow me."

They were led to a small office which Hermione seemed to feel quite comfortable in. She sat down in the comfortable chairs and the others quickly followed her example.

They waited for a few minutes when the doors opened and Sirius saw an intimidating looking goblin walk in the room. He stopped at Hermione and gave her a small bow and a kind smile.

"You are looking well Hermione," he said happily. He looked at the rest of the group and nodded. "I am glad to see that you have gathered friends whom you trust enough."

Hermione smiled. "I have one more that will be here in a moment and we're all going to take precautions to protect the secret."

Sirius and James raised an eyebrow at each other. Apparently they had agreed to this by coming with them.

"Will your other friend be here shortly?" Ragnok asked.

Hermione and Lily nodded. "He had to come separately to avoid detection," Lily explained.

"Who is your friend?" James asked, a hint of jealousy in his tone.

The door opened and closed. Sirius and James whipped around and Sirius felt as if his jaw had dropped to the floor.

Walking into the room confidently was none other than Severus Snape. At least, Sirius **thought** that it was Severus Snape.

The pale, greasy, wimp of a boy that Sirius remembered was not the one who walked into the room. Instead, the person who walked into the room was a man. He no longer had pale skin and the grease that had always seemed to plague him was gone. Now, his hair was a rustic looking black and was cut short. He wore regular wizard's robes, but Sirius could tell by his gait that he was more athletic than he was when he left Hogwarts.

"Snivellus?" James gasped beside him only to be interrupted by Lily stamping firmly on his foot.

"Never call him that again," Lily ordered. "If you want to be included, then you need to accept Severus. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am," James mumbled while he rubbed his sore foot.

Severus smirked at Lily's actions and confidently took the seat on the other side of her.

When they were all comfortable, Ragnok took out a goblin-made knife and laid it on the table.

"Before we go any further," Ragnok said. "We will all take the goblin secrecy oath. It is similar to your Fidelius Charm, but it is done with blood magic so it cannot possibly be broken. A Fidelius Charm can be broken by the secret keeper, but once you take this oath you keep the secret forever."

"And who will be the secret keeper?" Lily asked.

Ragnok looked at Hermione who nodded. "I will," she said.

"It is dangerous," Ragnok warned her.

The thought of Hermione being in danger made Sirius's heart clench in pain. "If its dangerous then let me do it," he proclaimed.

Hermione giggled. "You have to know the secret to be the secret keeper. But thank you for the offer."

"Then tell me the secret first," Sirius stubbornly cried. "Don't risk yourself!"

"I'll be fine," she assured him. Turning back to Ragnok she said, "Let's do it."

Ragnok walked over to Hermione and gave her a piece of parchment and to Sirius's surprise, a muggle item known as a pen. "Write down the secret. Don't miss any details," he instructed.

Hermione went to the corner and spent five minutes furiously scribbling down on the parchment. When she was done, she folded it up multiple times so that there was no way to read through the parchment. Keeping the parchment clenched in her hand, she walked back to her seat and sat back down.

"Put the parchment on your palm," Ragnok continued to instruct. When Hermione opened her palm, leaving the precious parchment exposed, Ragnok held the blade in front of him and began chanting in goblin. The blade glowed blood-red, and Sirius felt his heart quicken in fear.

"Are you ready?" Ragnok asked.

Hermione nodded determinedly. Ragnok raised the dagger and Hermione clenched her eyes shut. Without hesitation, Ragnok drove the dagger into the parchment, right through Hermione's palm.

Immediately, the red on the dagger climbed up Hermione's arm and up her neck. Tears of pain escaped Hermione's eyes and she began to draw blood from her lip as she bit it harder and harder to keep from crying out. It wasn't until the red reached her head that she screamed in pain.

Unable to bear it, Sirius leapt forward and made a move to pull the dagger out of her palm. Before he could, he was immobilized by a strong pair of arms.

"Let me go!" he shouted to Severus. "I have to save her!"

"If you interrupt now, then she will die," Severus said firmly as he restrained one of his least favorite people in the world.

Sirius stopped struggling and looked back at Severus angrily. He was surprised when he saw that Severus's eyes were pained at Hermione's screams just as his own were.

"You care for her," Sirius stated in shock.

"Of course I do," Severus answered. "She's my friend."

"She is," Lily said in agreement. Sirius looked at her and saw tears were leaking from her eyes. "We've spent a lot of time together this summer."

Hermione's screams stopped abruptly, causing Sirius's arms to almost stop. Her breaths were ragged and brief and her skin was turning pale.

"Is she?" Sirius gulped.

The red suddenly crept back down her skin and back into the dagger. When the red vanished from her skin, Hermione opened her eyes, gazed at Sirius with a glazed over expression, and started to fall forward in her seat.

Immediately, Sirius was there to catch her. He effortlessly picked her up and laid her on the ground.

"Hermione, wake up," he pleaded. He smoothed the hair away from her face and put his cheek right above her face to check for breathing.

"Sirius," a soft whisper said from beneath him. "You're holding me too tight."

Sirius laughed in relief and loosened his grip. He looked down and saw that Hermione was gazing up at him with an exhausted look on her face, but other than that she appeared okay. He looked at her hand and saw that the parchment was reduced to nothing but ashes. The stab wound on her hand was still bleeding profusely, but Ragnok gently placed his hand on it and used his own type of magic to sort of cauterize the bleeding. When he removed his hand, there was nothing but a bad burn on Hermione's palm.

Ragnok went to his desk and grabbed a small pot and a roll of gauze. He carried them over to Hermione and quickly opened the pot and dabbed its contents on the burn. When it was covered, he gently wrapped the wound with the gauze.

"Thank you Ragnok," Hermione said tiredly. "Let's get the rest done."

"Will that hurt you?" Sirius demanded instantly.

Ragnok chuckled. "Do not fear young Black, the dangerous part is over. If you wish, you could be the first to be told the secret."

Sirius quickly agreed. The secret telling, to Sirius's displeasure, involved blood. Hermione took a fresh blade from Ragnok and sliced it across her uninjured palm, ignoring Sirius's protests.

"Stop being a baby," she teased as she cleaned the blade with a wave of her wand and handed it to Sirius.

"I'm not a baby," Sirius said with a grin.

"Draw the blade across your palm," Ragnok instructed. "Hermione's secret is bound to her blood, and if both parts are willing, the secret can be transferred between blood."

Sirius nodded and grimaced slightly as he drew the blade across his own palm. Hermione then took Sirius's bloody hand in her own. When their hands touched, Sirius felt his own hand warm up and a bout of knowledge force its way into his brain. The sensation only lasted for a moment and when it was over, Sirius stared at Hermione with a mixture of hurt, shock and horror plastered on his face.

"Sirius, what is it?" James questioned.

He couldn't answer that question, so Sirius just stayed silent. As everyone else in the room took part in the blood ritual, all of them except Ragnok sat down heavily with a look of shock and horror on their faces at the new information.

"I'm sorry that I lied to you all for so long," Hermione said softly as she struggled to stand. "But, this is the truth. We have the information that we need to prevent my future from happening. I know how to defeat Voldemort."

"How?" Lily croaked out as she rubbed her bandaged hand.

Hermione nodded to Ragnok who opened his desk and took something out. He held it up to reveal a gold cup which he put on his desk.

"This is one of Voldemort's horcruxes," she said. "There are four more besides this, and if given time he will make more. These need to be destroyed and I need your help."

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**A/N- My math may be off for how many horcruxes were made at this point, but oh well. Review! -Phoenix**


	12. Base

**A/N- For those who haven't realized yet, I tend to subtlety switch between POVs. The main character is Hermione so it's mostly her POV, but some characters get the spotlight too. Review! –Phoenix**

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After Ragnok destroyed Voldemort's first horcrux, the group of five left Gringotts to head back towards the bookstore where Sirius and James had left Remus and Peter.

"So what happens now?" James asked Lily.

Lily turned her head slightly towards James and shrugged. "All we really can do is look for leads. We can discuss this more when we return to Hogwarts."

James nodded and looked out of the corner of his eye to see Severus sneaking away from them, careful not to be seen together.

Noticing where James's gaze was, Lily gently nudged his arm with her own. "He can't be seen with us here," she whispered. "He's my friend and I trust him, but he's still a Slytherin and we need him to be trusted among his housemates."

"I don't like it," James mumbled childishly. "He's a snake."

In front of them, Hermione looked over her shoulder and frowned at him. "Leave him be," she said firmly. "Lions aren't always the most trustworthy either. No house is better than the other, and if you honestly think that then you're just as prejudiced as the Death Eaters."

That brought a blush on James's face. He had never thought of it that way before.

They walked back to the bookstore only to find that Peter and Remus had already left. Hermione walked to one of the chairs and sat down tiredly. Instantly, Sirius was by her side.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

Hermione smiled at him. "I'm just tired," she assured him. "Do you and James need to go meet up with Remus and Peter?"

Sirius grinned at her. "We can stay for a few minutes. Are you going to tell us how you guys managed to get so skilled in a couple months?"

She looked over to Lily who nodded before turning back to face Sirius. Hermione's smile was just as sly as Sirius's. "How about we show you instead? You would be back in time to meet with Remus and Peter."

At Sirius and James's agreeing nod, the girls led them to a secluded back alley near the bookstore. After they ensured that they wouldn't be disturbed, Hermione pulled out what looked like a galleon on a chain out of her shirt. Lily pulled out one as well. Then they each grabbed one of the boy's hands (Hermione with Sirius and Lily with James) and held on firmly.

"Bast to base," Hermione said as she held her necklace.

"Clarice to base," Lily said.

There was the familiar tugging at their navels as the portkeys took them away. When the unpleasant feeling passed, Sirius and James found themselves standing in an abandoned living room. The room was well-furnished and there were assorted texts lying on the tables and the floor. There was a weird looking box in front of the couch that Sirius didn't recognize.

"That's a television," Lily explained in amusement. "Even we need a break from books now and then."

"Is this your house, Lily?" James asked.

Lily shook her head and pointed outside the window. "I live in a village; this house is in the countryside. This is our base."

Sirius looked at Hermione, expecting an explanation.

"We'll start from the beginning," Hermione said. "But first, I could use some tea and a bite to eat, I'm famished. Lily, would you activate the runes while I put the kettle on?"

"For how long?"

Hermione bit her lip then winced, her lip still sore from biting it during the ritual. "I think five hours would be good for now, don't you? Plus, the runes don't have enough charge for anything much more than that."

The two girls left the two very confused boys on the couch while they went to do their tasks. Sirius and James both looked around in alarm when they felt a sudden surge of magic. It lasted for only a moment before it faded. Hermione and Lily came back in a moment later, Hermione carrying a tray with tea and sandwiches. Lily cleared the table and Hermione put down the tray before they took their seats.

Hermione took a sandwich and made a cup of tea before she sank back into her chair. "This house is owned by Gringotts, Ragnok gave it to us to use as a base while we take care of the horcruxes. The goblins put every form of goblin protection on this house so it's pretty much impenetrable. Ragnok himself did the security wards, and as the manager of Gringotts, he's very powerful. Ragnok also had the house furnished and stocked with everything that we could possibly need. We have a deal with the goblins, when we defeat Voldemort and change the ministry we will openly fight for goblin rights."

Sirius shook his head. "It won't matter how much you fight, the goblins will never get the secrets of wand making like they want. You would have to be the poster witch of the good side in the war to stand a chance for even the most basic rights."

"I talked with Ragnok and we've come to an understanding. We won't try to get wizards to share wand secrets and they won't be expected to share forging secrets," Hermione responded as she took a sip of her tea.

James looked at Lily. "What rune did you activate?" he asked her.

Lily smiled shyly at him. "It's a time-suppression rune that Hermione and I found in one of the texts. We put them across the property and when activated, it slows time down in here. We also found a rune that we carved into our own bodies," she and Hermione lifted their shirts slightly to show a rune carved into their hips. "This rune allows our bodies to stay the same age while we're in the rune. Our bodies can change, but they can't grow older. So the extent of the change that our bodies went through is limited to how our bodies could potentially be at that age. Hermione, Severus and I have been living here for well over a year."

"A year?" Sirius gasped. "What've you been doing?"

"Training," Hermione said simply. "We would leave in the morning, activate the rune, train for days here at base and be back by dinner. The rune needs to recharge too, the longer the time the longer the charge. Twelve hours would be enough usually so it would recharge overnight. We would do physical training and magical training."

"Why physical training?" James asked in confusion.

Lily giggled at that. "How do you expect to last in a long-term battle if you lack the needed endurance? Plus, a healthy body means a healthy magical core."

"We would run, lift weights, even swim in the pond on the property," Hermione continued. "Severus likes swimming the best," she said to Lily, causing them both to erupt in a fit of giggles. "We would also practice magic and do research. We did a lot of discussing on how to take possession of Voldemort's horcruxes. So far only the cup is taken care of and that's because it was being stored in Bellatrix LeStrange's vault. Jean hasn't mentioned where the others are."

In response to Sirius and James's unspoken question, Hermione took out the battered diary that the boys had often seen her with.

"This is the diary that was filled out by the last Jean Hanley, the last one to go through time," Hermione explained. "A new page is revealed a day and I take the information into account. So far, she hasn't mentioned where the other horcruxes are so we've been doing our own searching. I am also filling in my own diary so that if the future me needs to go back in time, she'll have her own valuable resource."

Sirius nodded slowly. "What else have you three been doing?"

Hermione and Lily looked at each other with a sly smile. "Come out back and we'll show you," Lily said.

Obediently, the boys followed the girls outside. When they were outside Hermione and Lily suddenly vanished into nothing. Alarmed, the boys drew their wands and scanned the area.

"Lily!" "Hermione!" the boys cried out for their respective crushes.

Sirius was about to go search for them when he felt something climb up his back. Yelping in alarm, he looked over his shoulder and found himself looking into the very brown eyes of a cat. Behind him, he saw James fighting off a doe who was butting her head into his abdomen.

"What the bloody hell?" Sirius shouted.

He made a move to hit the cat off of his back when it leapt off and took a swipe at his legs before dashing away. The doe bounded away from James and joined the cat. Then, much to Sirius's and James's surprise, they shifted into their crushes.

"Bloody hell," James shouted. "You're animaguses!"

The girls nodded proudly. "I'm Bast," Hermione said. "And Lily is Clarice."

James had a goofy smile on his face. "Why Clarice?" he asked.

Lily shrugged. "I don't think you've ever watched a Rudolph special," she answered. "But, Clarice is Rudolph's girlfriend."

James smirked and shifted into his stag form before he pranced around proudly. Lily gaped at him before she shifted back and they started dashing with each other in the yard.

"Hey James!" Sirius shouted. "How about from now on, your name is Rudolph?"

If deer could blush, James and Lily would have. But, James nodded in agreement.

Deciding to join in on the fun, Sirius shifted into his dog form and wagged his tail at Hermione. Hermione laughed at his behavior and quickly shifted into her own form. Even though dogs and cats were known to butt heads, these two had plenty of fun. Hermione leapt on Sirius's back and dug in lightly with her claws, causing Sirius to yelp playfully in pain.

They lost track of how long they played. It wasn't until they heard a loud caw and a black shape diving down at them that Hermione and Lily shifted back with James and Sirius right behind. Lily held out her arm and the black bird landed on it and playfully pecked at Lily's fingers.

"Ouch, Nevermore stop it," Lily laughed. "Were you given any trouble when we separated?"

The raven, Nevermore, glided down from Lily's arm onto the ground. Then, to the boys' ever-growing surprise, it shifted into Severus. Severus grinned at Lily and shook his head.

"Lucius stopped me to ask me if I was excited about the new school year," he answered. "Although," he added more hesitantly. "He did ask me when my seventeenth birthday was."

Right away, Lily's expression was one of concern. "Surely they aren't planning on recruiting you once you turn seventeen? You turn seventeen in January!"

"I'll be okay, Lily," Severus said softly. He took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, earning a glare from James. "Besides, isn't the whole point in me avoiding you girls in public to make sure that I'm trusted among the Death Eaters? Joining them would be even better."

Lily frowned. "I just don't want you to be in any more danger than is necessary," she sniffed.

Severus gave her a half-smile. "Hey, if that's what it takes to protect my girls, then that's what I'll do."

Now both James and Sirius were glaring at Severus. They weren't thrilled at all about the idea that Severus trained with their fancies for over a year. Sensing their gazes, Severus turned to them and his smile faded.

"Girls, I'm going to have a chat with our guests for a moment," he said. "We'll catch up with you back in the house."

Hermione and Lily looked at each other before they looked at Severus. "Don't hurt them," Hermione said seriously. At James's and Sirius's indignant shouts she turned to them. "He could beat you two single-handedly without breaking a sweat," she said bluntly. "So don't piss him off." With that, she and Lily went back into the house.

For a few moments, they just coolly stared at each other. Severus didn't like them, and they didn't like Severus. Finally, Severus decided to break the silence.

"You two are prats," he said bluntly. "You pick on those who you don't like mercilessly and you don't care if your 'jokes' hurt your target. Your Marauders group may seem like gods walking among men, but the reality is that you aren't even men yourselves. Neither of you deserve Lily's or Hermione's affections. I realized a long time ago that I don't have a chance with Lily, and I never saw Hermione in a romantic sense. Lily and I have a special bond that isn't capable of moving to something romantic. But, those two girls are my best friends and I would gladly die for either of them. You can either get over your jealousy and your arrogance, or you can get out. Because, at this point, the girls would choose me over you. If you want to be worthy of their affections, or even their love, you need to grow up and stop acting like arseholes. I won't allow you two to hurt them. I've studied a lot here at base, and I am more than capable of making sure that you two are incapable of becoming intimate. Do I make myself clear?"

Sirius and James stared at Severus in shock. There was no anger or malice in the Slytherin's voice. He was just being completely serious.

"Why are you telling us this?" Sirius asked.

Severus sighed heavily and looked towards the house where the girls were undoubtedly watching. "Because those two fabulous young women for some reason fancy you two. And, if you are going to join us, then we need to trust each other which we don't. For the sake of the cause, and for the girls, I am willing to put everything behind us."

The Gryffindor boys continued to stare at Severus with their mouths gaping like a fish out of water. Then, they looked at each other and smiled. Hearing that their crushes fancied them in return made becoming allies with Severus worth it.

"Alright," James said. He held out his hand and Severus took it firmly. They shook hands and then Severus and Sirius shook.

When they were done, all three of them walked back to the house where Hermione and Lily were waiting anxiously.

"Everything okay?" Hermione asked.

Severus nodded. "Everything is fine. Did you two show them around?"

Hermione nodded and gestured to the living room. "This is where we did the brunt of our research and hanging out. We would do research towards the end of our time at base so that we could plan what to do the next time we were here."

The tour continued with the small library that was filled with ancient texts that the goblins had stored for their value. Then they were shown the bedrooms that were magically charmed to have much more space than they originally had. The armory was one of the bigger shocks. It was filled with assorted goblin-made weapons that the three had been training with. Hermione picked up a bow that seemed to fit her while Lily showed her knife and Severus gestured to his hidden daggers.

"If we don't have our wands, we don't want to be defenseless," Hermione explained. "Ragnok occasionally joins us at base for training and then trains us solely in weapons use. We're pretty able with all the weapons, though far from masters. These are just our favorites."

Sirius looked at the hidden sheath that Severus had gestured to. "Why are yours so well hidden?" he asked out of curiosity.

Severus flicked his wrist and instantly a blade came out. "If I'm going to be a spy, then I need a weapon that can be concealed and accessed at a moment's notice."

Sirius nodded in understanding. "And, are you pleased with that role?" he asked seriously.

"Of course not," Severus scoffed. "But everyone has their own part, this one is mine."

"Be nice," Hermione and Lily said at the same time, causing Severus to smirk.

Lily turned to James, but kept her eyes averted from his. "So, are you in?"

James turned to her in surprise. "Of course I'm in! I can't wait to join you three in this training, time-warped thing."

"I'm in too," Sirius put in, not wanting to be outdone. "When do we start?"

Hermione smiled and pulled out her own hidden dagger. "You can start tomorrow if you want, but first things first. You guys need a rune carved into your hips."

James and Sirius gulped and looked at each other. Their first step in training had just become terrifying.

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**A/N- Sorry that I haven't updated in a while and that this chapter is short. There just don't seem to be enough hours in the day for me to work and write. And I had to name a raven Nevermore after the poem by Edgar Allen Poe. Review! -Phoenix**


	13. Author's Note

I'm sorry, but all my stories are on hiatus at the moment. This is because I have come across a wicked writer's block and I can only write a paragraph at a time that I'm actually happy with. I'm sorry to disappoint, but I would rather take a long time to write a chapter that I'm happy with than write a half-a** one and get it out right away. I don't know when I'll get over this writer's block, but I hope that it will be soon.

While I may not be updating, I would like to say that I am currently accepting requests for stories that need a beta reader. I like to edit writer's work and I'm pretty good at it. If you're interested, send me a PM.

Again, I'm sorry for the wait. I hope that when I get over my writer's block that everyone will continue reading my stories.

-Phoenix


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